Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Venues

There were six stadiums that hosted matches: The stadiums represent London itself and South East England, the English Midlands, North West England and North East England in England, as well as Scotland and Wales.

NOTE: The Ricoh Arena was known as the City of Coventry Stadium due to the no-commercialisation policy.

Competition schedule

Qualified nations

Men's tournament

Main article: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's qualification

• Locations are those of final tournaments, various qualification stages may precede matches at these specific venues.
• Senior ranking shown for comparison only. This is an under-23 competition, which does not award ranking points for the FIFA World Rankings, neither takes it into consideration.
• England's ranking.

Women's tournament

Main article: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's qualification

• Locations are those of final tournaments, various qualification stages may precede matches at these specific venues.
• England's ranking.

United Kingdom/Great Britain teams

Main article: United Kingdom national football team, Great Britain men's Olympic football team

A men's football team representing Great Britain competed in the Olympics until 1972, albeit failing to qualify for the main tournament after 1960. After the Football Association abolished the distinction between amateur and professionals, a ruling that came into force in 1974, Great Britain did not subsequently attempt to qualify in football, although after the rules on Olympic eligibility were relaxed in 1984, they would have been permitted to do so.

On 24 August 2008, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested that the presence of a GB team at the 2012 games was "vital". He said that he had approached Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson to coach such a team. The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish football associations opposed such a move in case it would affect their status within the governing body of football, FIFA.

On 29 May 2009, after last-ditch talks prompted by a FIFA deadline to settle the row, the four associations sent a letter to FIFA stating that while the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish associations would not participate in a unified UK men's or women's teams at the Olympic Games, they would not prevent England from fielding teams under that banner.

However, Britain's FIFA Vice-president Jim Boyce stated that Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Craig Bellamy, Charlie Adam and other non-English players would have the legal right to be considered for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics. The deal among the four "home nations" was challenged by the British Olympic Association. Boyce said there was no legal restriction as to why a player from Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland could be stopped from playing.

Ultimately, five Welsh players were included in the 2012 Great Britain Olympic football squad, with Ryan Giggs – included as one of the three players over the age of 23 permitted – selected as team captain. Giggs would score during the tournament, in a 3–1 defeat of the United Arab Emirates at Wembley. None of the Great Britain men's football squad came from Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Tie breakers

This tournament differs from other modern major international football tournaments, in that head-to-head records is not the primary way to break ties.

The ranking of the teams in each group shall be determined as follows:

1. greatest number of points obtained in all group matches;
2. goal difference in all group matches;
3. greatest number of goals scored in all group matches;
4. greatest number of points obtained in all group matches between the teams concerned;
5. goal difference resulting from all group matches between the teams concerned;
6. greatest number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned;
7. drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee.

Men's tournament

Main article: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament

Group A

Main article: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament – Group A

Group B

Main article: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament – Group B

Group C

Main article: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament – Group C

Group D

Main article: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament – Group D

Knockout stage

Main article: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament – Knockout stage

Squad restrictions

The same restrictions used for recent Olympiads are applied, in which each squad is to consist of eighteen players, of which no more than three may be over the age of 23 before the beginning of the next year. In the case of the 2012 Summer Olympics, this restricts players born before 1 January 1989.

Women's tournament

Main article: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament

Group E

Main article: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament – Group E

Group F

Main article: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament – Group F

Group G

Main article: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament – Group G

Knockout stage

Main article: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament – Knockout stage

| team-width=150 | RD1-seed1=E1 | RD1-team1= | RD1-score1=0 | RD1-seed2=F3 | RD1-team2=**** | RD1-score2=2 | RD1-seed3=G1 | RD1-team3=**** | RD1-score3=2 | RD1-seed4=E3 | RD1-team4= | RD1-score4=0 | RD1-seed5=F1 | RD1-team5= | RD1-score5=1 | RD1-seed6=G2 | RD1-team6=**** | RD1-score6=2 | RD1-seed7=E2 | RD1-team7= | RD1-score7=0 | RD1-seed8=F2 | RD1-team8=**** | RD1-score8=2 | RD2-seed1=F3 | RD2-team1= | RD2-score1=3 | RD2-seed2=G1 | RD2-team2=**** (aet) | RD2-score2=4 | RD2-seed3=G2 | RD2-team3= | RD2-score3=1 | RD2-seed4=F2 | RD2-team4=**** | RD2-score4=2 | RD3-seed1=G1 | RD3-team1=**** | RD3-score1=2 | RD3-seed2=F2 | RD3-team2= | RD3-score2=1 | RD3-seed3=F3 | RD3-team3=**** | RD3-score3=1 | RD3-seed4=G2 | RD3-team4= | RD3-score4=0

Squad restrictions

There were no age restrictions in the women's tournament.

Medal summary

Medal table

Medalists

Notable events and controversies

South Korean political statements

After South Korea defeated Japan in the Bronze Medal match at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 10 August, South Korean player Park Jong-woo walked around the field holding a banner with a message written in Korean, "독도는 우리 땅!" (dokdo neun uri ttang lit. "Dokdo is our territory!). As both IOC and FIFA statutes prohibit any political statements being made by athletes at their respective sporting events, the IOC barred Park from the bronze medal ceremony and did not permit him to receive his medal. In addition, it asked FIFA to discipline Park, and stated that it may decide on further sanctions at a later date. FIFA failed to reach a conclusion on the case at a meeting at its Zürich headquarters held on 5 October, and the disciplinary committee discussed the case again on the following week, then failed to reach a verdict again. The case was heard again by the committee on 20 November, and FIFA decided on 3 December to suspend Park for two matches after he was considered to have breached the FIFA Disciplinary Code and the Regulations of the Olympic Football Tournaments. FIFA also imposed a warning on the Korea Football Association and reminded it of its obligation to properly instruct its players on all the pertinent rules and applicable regulations before the start of any competition, in order to avoid such incident in the future. The Korea Football Association was warned that should incidents of such nature occur again in the future, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee may impose harsher sanctions on the Korea Football Association.

Iranian women's team dress code violations

Iran's women's team and three Jordanian players were banned during the second round of the Asian qualification tournament due to not adhering to FIFA dress code; the players were allowed to play while covering their head in the first round. FIFA banned the hijab in 2007, although FIFA now allows the hijab to be worn after overturning the 2007 decision in 2012.

Use of incorrect flag for North Korea

Following the South Korean flag being put on display, instead of the correct North Korean flag, on the stadium screen at Hampden Park when the teams were being announced before the Colombia versus North Korea women's match, the North Korea team protested against this action by refusing to take to the pitch. The kick-off was delayed by over an hour while the mistake was being corrected.

Canada–United States semi-final

During the semi-final match between Canada and the United States, a time-wasting call was made against the Canadian goalkeeper, Erin McLeod, when she held the ball longer than the allowed six seconds. This violation is called in international play, and is intended to be used during instances of time-wasting. As a result, the American side was awarded an indirect free-kick in the box. On the ensuing play, Canada was penalized for a handball in the penalty box, with the American team being awarded a penalty kick, which Abby Wambach converted to tie the game at 3–3. The Americans went on to win the match in extra time, advancing to the gold medal game. After the match, Canada forward Christine Sinclair stated, "the ref decided the result before the game started." FIFA responded by stating that the refereeing decisions were correct and saying it was considering disciplinary action against Sinclair, but that any disciplinary action would be postponed until after the end of the tournament.

References

References

1. "Olympic sports: Football". London 2012.
2. (10 November 2011). "GB Olympic football teams to play in Manchester, London and Cardiff". British Broadcasting Corporation.
3. "Sports & venues: Football stadia, UK-wide". London 2012.
4. "AFC slots for Olympics approved". Asian Football Confederation.
5. (26 January 2012). "Play-off details confirmed". FIFA.
6. (3 March 2011). "China to host women's Olympic qualifiers". [[Asian Football Confederation]].
7. (19 August 2011). "Fixture change in Africa". FIFA.com.
8. "Canada granted 2012 Olympic Qualifiers". Canadian Soccer Association.
9. (24 August 2008). "Brown pays tribute to GB success". [[BBC Sport]].
10. (29 May 2009). "England to go solo with 2012 Olympic team?". ESPNsoccernet.
11. (4 March 2011). "Torneos olímpicos de fútbol – Londres 2012". International football journalism.
12. (24 March 2011). "London 2012 Olympics: Gareth Bale and non-English players have 'legal right' to play for Team GB". The Daily Telegraph.
13. (9 July 2012). "Welsh stars Ryan Giggs and Craig Bellamy dismiss Olympic fears". BBC Sport.
14. Fletcher, Paul. (29 July 2012). "Olympics football: Ryan Giggs inspires GB win over UAE". BBC Sport.
15. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120812213123/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/01/33/73/30/regulationsoft2012_updatedjune2012_en.pdf Regulations of the Olympic Football Tournaments London 2012] (FIFA) Chapter VII, Articles 25 & 29, Paragraph 5 (p. 37 & 40).
16. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110304214738/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/01/33/73/30/regulationsoft2012_update10.15.10_e.pdf Regulations of the Olympic Football Tournaments London 2012] (FIFA) Chapter III, Article 8, paragraph 3 (p. 15).
17. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110304214738/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/01/33/73/30/regulationsoft2012_update10.15.10_e.pdf Regulations of the Olympic Football Tournaments London 2012] (FIFA) Chapter III, Article 8, paragraph 4 (p. 15).
18. (10 August 2012). "[SS포토]동메달 축구대표팀 박종우, '독도는 우리 땅!'". Sports Seoul.
19. (11 August 2012). "London Olympics: row over S Korea 'political celebration'". BBC News.
20. (11 August 2012). "IOC weighs in on flag incident". ESPN.
21. (13 August 2012). "Politics keeps South Korean soccer player off medal podium". CNN.
22. Das, Andrew. (11 August 2012). "South Korean Denied Medal Over Politics". The New York Times.
23. (6 October 2012). "FIFA puts off ruling on S. Korean". theStarOnline.
24. (20 November 2012). "FIFA to hear case over South Korea Olympic protest". Reuters.
25. "Korea Republic's Park Jongwoo suspended for two matches". FIFA.
26. Shantyei, Sanam. (6 June 2011). "Iran women's Olympic dream crushed by dress code ruling". Arab News.
27. Singh, Vijai. (3 March 2012). "Headscarves for Women's Games Near Approval". The New York Times.
28. (5 July 2012). "Hijabs approved for soccer players by FIFA". CBC News.
29. Bowater, Donna. (25 July 2012). "London 2012 Olympics: North Korea women footballers protest over flag gaffe". The Telegraph.
30. "Controversial women's soccer call continues to baffle experts".
31. (7 August 2012). "Controversy mars Americans' 4–3 win over Canada, but should not detract from a great game". Yahoo! Sports.
32. (7 August 2012). "London 2012 soccer: Controversial call against Canada in U.S. semifinal rarely made". Toronto Star.
33. (9 August 2012). "FIFA to probe Canadian remarks".
34. "Christine Sinclair's suspension wasn't for comments to media". CBC News.
35. Kelly, Cathal. (12 June 2015). "The greatest game of women's soccer ever played". The Globe and Mail.