Announcement from the host and organizer of the 2017 World Cup

[Freshmaker]

1- Everyone in the KOA must know that there was a software bug that affected the 2017 WC final.

2- The nature of this bug is completely accidental, and it is an unfortunate consequence of the settings selected for the Games of Shame, and that we didn't reset the hard-/software after the Games of Shame.

3- Although this affected in equal conditions both players in the final, the most noticeable effect was that due to this bug, we saw two headers by Gianni that could possibly have counted as goals, became missed headers going to goal kicks, due to the cross-bar not being present.

4- Had this incident been noticed as a bug, and acted on, on time, it would possibly have called for a replay of the WC final matches; at least the one match visibly affected.

5- Sadly it was several days later when this mistake became clear, being impossible by that time to offer a satisfactory solution for all parties involved.

6- There have been proposals going towards
- cancelling the matches/results
- replaying the matches online
- fixing the score - adding the two possible missed goals
- leaving it as it is
and finally
- calling the finals ending with a shared Championship for the two players (and likewise for the 3rd/4th place-final, that possibly also was affected by the bug (and even the Silver Cup final))

7- After discussing this back and forth, talking to both players in the final, checking with outside people, the only possible outcome has come down to the following
- The results stay as they are
- We recognize how the bug affected the matches
- We learn from this in the future, making sure that before the finals in upcoming World Cups, the machines are being properly reset.
- Update our rules to hopefully be ahead of such matters
- Maybe we also need to form a jury for every World Cup, ruling on such matters, should they ever turn up again.

8- Our hope is though that this public explanation offers some kind of moral reparation to Gianni, while at the same time do not undermine the legitimity of Dagh's victory or the excellent software work always provided by Steve Camber.

9 - Finally; This is simply to be considered as an announcement. I will answer no questions on the matter, as I'm currently busy looking forward to spending a November-Weekend in Bournmouth.

[Rodolfo]

I agree, and support this statement.

It was about time that this issue got out of the closet, and that the whole KOA knows what happened. Now I very much hope that we can learn from it, and move on.

[alkis21]

This statement has my full support as well. Very well put.

[LORENZO L]

sorry but I feel the need to give a different view. Dagh is definitely the best player right now but for this reason taking this decision reduces his value. It has been seen by everyone and I underline all the bugs between the first and second half of the world finals and everyone saw the bug of the second half. Now you tell us that a mistake was made and that the bug could be avoided? But why did not you intervene at that moment when everyone was laughing at the incident ??? I saw flying chairs for a lot less and if it had happened to other people We do not all pretend nothing was a mistake not to build the program but to run the program and the game was blocked at the end of the first half and rescheduled the game but someone could sleep others laughed and others who now comment were not even present

[Rodolfo]

[...] Now you tell us that a mistake was made and that the bug could be avoided? [...]

Please, read again:

4- Had this incident been noticed as a bug, and acted on, on time, it would possibly have called for a replay of the WC final matches; at least the one match visibly affected.

5- Sadly it was several days later when this mistake became clear, being impossible by that time to offer a satisfactory solution for all parties involved.

It was an accident, and no one noticed on time.

But why did not you intervene at that moment when everyone was laughing at the incident ???

Are you implying that out of malice someone noticed right there that there was an avoidable software bug, but decided to let the game go on? Please clarify, because that is a very serious accusation.

[LORENZO L]

Rodolfo I'm saying what I saw with my eyes because I was present: between the first and second time the few members of Koa present who rightly decide for all the rules of this game, should have intervened between the first and second time and be careful of the fact that happened, because the thing was very evident so much to make the other players laugh, including me because the bug was very evident
Possible that the programmer did not notice these bugs?
Again I have been wrong and I would have expected someone to take responsibility for it

[Rodolfo]

Why did you not say anything right there?

[LORENZO L]

because I'm not a part of those who make rules for this game, and I'm not the programmer.
Rodolfo I do not want to go to anyone's defender. I would have felt so disappointed even if it happened to any other person. For sure I absolutely do not want to disrespect Dagh that I appreciate both as a player but above all as a person, unfortunately, however, in all this affair we are all doing wrong just to him

[Rodolfo]

I have been here for some time, and i am not very sure who "makes rules for this game". But i know that Steve Camber was watching, and two world champions were watching, and none of them noticed that there was an accidental avoidable new bug going on. It was several days later that we could know and realize what had happened, and in fact you can read it here in this thread: http://www.ko-gathering.com/forum/viewt ... 02#p279702

[Noodlebug]

I don't think it is fair to start looking for people to blame. No-one could have anticipated the bug, or without the benefit of hindsight that a full re-set would have been be required to avoid it - there isn't any protocol in the rules about resetting machines before important matches (yet) and the realities of fitting a competition into strict time constraints must be acknowledged.

Everyone in the room saw what happened with the goal-not-a-goal and most thought it was odd but not one person immediately raised the question of whether it was sufficiently outside the parameters of playability to stop the game and look into it further. Even the player affected, who is probably as attuned to the quirks and possibilities of the game as anyone alive, did not lodge any complaint or request further investigation before the second half.

The conditions applied to both players equally, it was just Gianni's misfortune that he had a shot at exactly the right height to be affected by the bug, which also revealed the existence of the bug, without which no-one would have been any the wiser.

Let the winners enjoy their victories, while we losers bemoan our bad luck, that's football, that's life. The most important thing of all to remember is this: it's only a game.

[Robert]

If you think this is bad, remember this?

https://youtu.be/o5QlBHF6ib8

It's a real shame that otherwise perfect organisation is affected by this 'scandal'.

Overall it seems the final was played with some Game of Shame settings/bugs left over from previous games. Now, it seems everyone is wise after the event. Why didn't organiser reset the machine? Why didn't organiser spot the bug and stop the match... From my memory the Semi Finals were played on this machine with the same settings, before the final. Nobody noticed anything then so it's natural for everyone to trust the machine for the final.

It seems that out of the final four players (who we can call A,B,C,D) they all had equal exposure to the bug but one was impacted more than others. I prefer to say A B C D rather than names because this is not a personal matter. The fact that one person was impacted more than others is a matter of pure chance that could easily have gone the other way. It could have happened in the semi final to player C instead of the final to player B.

It's important to understand that this should not be blamed on the organiser as we were all there at the time and if someone felt so strongly something was wrong then the game should be paused and investigation should take place immediately. Once the result is set it is final and cannot be revised or replayed.

I don't think it is necessary for the organiser to apologise to player ABCD for what was not a deliberate action. In terms of the result of the WC this cannot be changed however I think we can recognise as a group that Player B has been very unfortunate and we should express our regret and thank him (and all four players) for accepting the result gracefully.

[JohnVella]

I wasn't there, but I am still allowed, (in my own opinion, obviously) to say well said, Robert.

Sometimes, things don't go according to plan in sports, or life in general, for that matter. Who here doesn't remember Thierry Henry's handball against the Irish, which cost them a place in the World Cup, (the "real" World Cup) or Maradona's "Hand of God" against England?

Sometimes these things happen, and all we can really do is try and learn from them, to avoid the same errors happening again.

[Robert]

It's amazing how often these things happen to England