During the many officiating problems of the 2010 World Cup, Blatter said that “uncertainty and subjectivity boost the sport.” They actually do the exact opposite. Here are some of the most serious problems with soccer: First, soccer is an under-officiated game. A soccer field is larger than an American football field, yet on the field the game has only one referee and two linesmen, each of whom patrols only one half the field from the sideline. Basketball uses three officials on a far smaller court. Hockey has two referees, two linesmen, and a video judge for goals. The thin officiating corps leads to all sorts of unnecessary errors that are apparent to every fan who has the benefit of replay equipment. Doubling the number of officials should reduce the number of errors. Second, soccer has an atrocious penalty structure. The hockey rules for penalties are far superior…

Read the full blog post on Defining Ideas.