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The beautiful game. My ass.
The World Cup is now upon us and it’s a very exciting time for the whole of mankind. I’ve played and watched football almost all of my life but I’m more of a Rugby League (RL) fan these days (more on that later).
However I was very excited for the opening match between Brazil and Croatia last night. The buzz of the tournament is fantastic and I think this next month is going to be a bit of a party, especially if England progress to the knockout stages.
Anyway so that match kicked off and it was an average match, Croatia taking a shock lead and then Brazil equalising with a fine effort from Neymar. Neymar was involved in an incident just before this goal so it’s debatable whether he should have even have been on the pitch (more on that later) but I let it slide and it’s 1-1 and all to play for!
Then the 71st minute arrived and I had to turn the TV off for a few moments until the fury subsided.
An 85kg grown man drops to the floor. With all the guns in Brazil someone might have throughout he had been shot, but no, this man is called Fred and he’s just dived, cheated and won a penalty. Of course Brazil scored the penalty and went on to win the game, Croatia were cheated.
The main reason I made the transition from football to RL is because of this. It is absolutely pathetic. It’s got to a point where I expect nothing less from these overpaid wimps as I’ve seen them do it for so long. The referee of course is at fault and so too is the linesman. How can they not see that it’s a blatant dive?
In addition so too is the FA, FIFA, Press, Managers, Groundsman and every other Tom, Dick and Harry who can watch these idiots act like three year old children.
What annoys me the most is the acceptance of the fans. It’s accepted as part of the game, there is no real uproar. Of course the Croatia manager is pissed and says so in his post match commentary, the Brazil managed on the other hand says after watching the replays “We also think it was a penalty. I have seen it 10 times and I think it is a penalty”? Is he on crack or what?
Patrick Vieira – a half time commentator – said something along the lines of “It’s part of football”. No Patrick it’s not, it’s out and out cheating and it’s wrong.
I could go on and on but I will leave it there, I’m hoping you understand my point.
Neymar – the diving little boy – is an absolutely fantastic footballer but the way he acts and dives about is pathetic. Moments before he scored the equaliser he looked directly at a bloke and elbowed him in the head when going for a challenge. The ref saw this incident and issued a yellow card. I don’t know the exact rules on this matter but a yellow card to me seems the worst possible option. If he only issues a warning it’s pathetic as he’s seen him do it but not disciplined him, if he issues a red then he’s sending the lad off for dangerous play (which it was). But no, this clown of a ref sees the elbow but issues a yellow card, the same type of punishment which is reserved for petty fouls etc?
Next I’m fast forwarding to somewhere near the end of the game. I’m unable to find any reference to it online (as mad as that seems to me!) so I can’t tell you the minute or the names of players involved. However Croatia scored what looked to be a perfectly good goal. Some bloke jumps up with the goalkeeper and heads the ball back to another player who slots the ball home. However the ref waves his hand and the goal is disallowed much to the dismay of the Croatian players. The commentator says the ball went out of play – it’s possible he didn’t have a clue so made something up – but on closer inspection the ref has given a foul against the player who challenged the goalkeeper for the ball, of course he’s gone down like he’s been blasted with an AK-47 too.
These keepers are about 7ft and have a massive advantage over outfield players as they can use their hands but for some stupid reason you can’t touch them? Pathetic.
This type of stuff has got worse and worse to the point that it’s painful for me to even watch it. Of course people say to me “well turn it off then” and this pisses me off even more as they are just accepting that it happens. I want to watch the game and I want to enjoy this world cup and I guess things are going to annoy me as that’s the way the game is!
I can’t understand how players can be fined for racial abuse picked up on a camera AFTER the game, but yet a player can cheat and get away with it scot-free.
I know I’m speaking about one game here but this is happening week in, week out in most high profile football matches. Thierry Henry handball, Maradona Handball, Diego Simeone being shot with a shotgun after Beckham tapped him. There are loads of them, some more high profile than others.
Well in RL we have video ref so if the referee is unsure he asks them to make a decision based on live replays. Maybe that would slow football down too much though. My mates suggested the referee ask the player who went down “were you fouled?”. If he says yes then the penalty awarded and if he says no then good on his for his sportsmanship. Of course it’s not always as clear cut as that, the player might have honestly thought he was fouled.
Currently it’s like there are three teams on the pitch, two teams of 11 “men” and one referee. There is more sportsmanship in Afghanistan.
How about just issuing bans to players after matches if the post-match videos confirm they have dived. Issue them a decent ban, say 5 games, I’m pretty sure that would make them think twice. You’re still going to have the same situation where it’s difficult to tell, but for the obvious ones such as last night it’s an easy decision.
Well there’s my rant for today. I could have wrote about this for hours but I feel better now.
Enjoy the World Cup