Euro 2012: Today Is the Tomorrow You Thought About Yesterday ... or ... a Day Off You really know you have a problem when the prime minister of Ukraine chimes in in favor of more transparency ... on the soccer field. Less than 24 hours after not one, not two, not three, but five officials botched a call that cost one of the co-hosts a goal against England and perhaps a shot at advancing to the quarterfinals, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said he had incontrovertible proof that Marko Devic's shot did go completely over the goal line - his own eyes. "If I saw from the stands that the ball had crossed the goal line, the referee was bound to see that," Azarov told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Azarov, an ally of the country's president Viktor Yanukovych, and other Ukrainian officials have been effusive (now there's a surprise) in praise of the country's performance on and off the field at the European Championships, even though some Western officials, fans and news media had urged a boycott for political reasons and in anticipation of possible racial incidents. Yulia Tymoshenko, the country's top opposition leader and the former prime minister, was recently sentenced to seven years in prison for abuse of office while conducting gas negotiations with Russia. In the West, the prison term was seen as politically motivated. Goal-Line Technology II The whole world was watching Tuesday as England's John Terry cleared the ball against Ukraine, and while the whole world, including FIFA president Sepp Blatter, now sees the need for goal-line technology, two of the top soccer officials in UEFA see things differently. UEFA president Michel Platini and the head of referees Pierluigi Collina still prefer the five-man system, with the additional officials on each end line. "We made a mistake," Collina conceded at a news conference on Wednesday. I wish we hadn't made the mistake, but we did. Referees are human beings and human beings make mistakes. The mistake was the first one by an additional assistant referee in 1,000 European games since the experiment was introduced three years ago, the UEFA secretary general Gianni Infantino told the news conference. UEFA said that of 302 close decisions made by assistant referees in the 24 matches so far, 289 of them were correct and 13 incorrect, a 96 percent accuracy rate. Platini added that while he still favors five officials on the field, he did expect the International Football Association Board, the sport's ultimate rules arbiter, to select one of two technologies, with testing to begin next season. Leagues interested in being the test labs for the new tech need only to volunteer, as did England's Premier League. Major League Soccer is not expected to be far behind. In fact, M.L.S. experienced its own incident only last Sunday when an apparent goal by the Chicago Fire was not given because the referee's assistant was blocked from seeing the Red Bulls" Wilman Conde clear the ball from over the line. Not to be left out, Blatter jumped in on Twitter on Wednesday: France is in the quarterfinals, facing defending champions Spain on Saturday in Donetsk, but what's a tournament involving the French without a bit of Sturm und Drang? After Tuesday's 2-0 loss to Sweden, the France locker room was the scene of some contretemps. "Yes, it got a bit heated, but then everyone had a cold shower," Coach Laurent Blanc said Wednesday. It shows that there was a bit of electricity. I hope there will be against Spain, because we'll need it. The veteran Florent Malouda, with the meltdown from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa still fresh, declined to speak with the news media after the Sweden game. "What I saw awoke some demons in me and I didn't want to express myself," Malouda said Wednesday. Because in the heat of the moment there was the risk of launching rockets and missiles. There are some things to sort out and sometimes you can really hurt someone with a comment you make. Sometimes you need to aim a few bursts of gunfire at each other. We said quite a few things to each other afterward in the dressing room. Behaving Badly Croatia and England are possibly facing more disciplinary action because of the behavior of their fans during Euro 2012. Croatia, which has been eliminated, had its federation fined $31,500 last week because of fan behavior during its match against Ireland. It could again be punished for "the improper conduct of supporters (display of racist banners and symbols) " during Monday's loss to Spain. UEFA said that during the game in Gdansk, Poland, fans set off fireworks. In addition, the sport's continental governing body is considering additional discipline after six Croatian players were booked. It all comes on the heels of a $101,000 fine slapped on Croatia for fans" racist abuse of the Italian player Mario Balotelli, who is black. UEFA said Croatia fans directed monkey noises at Balotelli. On Wednesday, UEFA fined the English F.A. $6,350 after some fans tried to run on to the field after England's game against Sweden in Kiev, Ukraine, last Friday. Van Bommel Is Done Mark van Bommel, 35, the captain of the Netherlands who was benched in the crushing loss to Portugal, announced his retirement from international play Wednesday on the Web site of the Dutch federation. "I don't want to retire," van Bommel said. Maybe there will be a moment that the coach needs me in the future and then I will be available but for now it is time for talented young players. Vegas odds for winning Euro 2012: Germany 11/5; Spain 12/5; Italy and Portugal 7/1; England 15/2; France 11/1; Czech Republic 40/1/; and Greece 50/1. If I were a betting man, I'd put a few shekels on Portugal. What about you? Jimmy Conrad, the former M.L.S. player who is now at the tournament for the KickTV YouTube channel has a different, positive take on fans from Croatia. Worth a few minutes look. There's more from Conrad on the channel here.