Since the start of the World Cup, a spectacle never before placed on the African Continent, that takes place once every four years, I have lost faith in competitive sports.
The key word this year: Controversy.
To start with, yesterday's match pitting Uruguay against Ghana. The Ghanian Team shined as the brightest African Star this year, having reached the finals of the African Cup, and now the quarter finals of the World Cup. The method under which they were eliminated was shameful.
Ghana managed to score an impressive goal in the last 15 seconds of stoppage time during the first half of the game, an impressive legger 35m away from the goal found its way to the back of the Uruguay Net.
During the second half, a well placed free kick from Diego Forlan equalised the score at one all. It would be a game of lost opportunities from then on. Until the last minute of extra time.
A blatant violation by Suarez, Uruguay's top scorer, prevented a surefire Ghanaian goal from being realised. A red card and a missed penalty kick later, and we enter the free kicks. Which, is more about luck than skill. Uruguay prevailed, Ghana's hopes were crushed in a single blow.
This is but one example. How many red cards were given? It seems football is no longer the clean, competitive sport one once imagined, it is a game of smoke and mirrors, charades and acts.
The Brazilian player Felipe Melo who got a red card against Holland yesterday for stepping onto the Robben's leg.
Kieta, from Nigeria, who booted the Greek player Vassilis Torosidis in the thigh.
Anthar, the Algerian, for un-sports-man-like conduct after the USA's Landon Donovan scored a goal in stoppage time.
Yahia’s aggressive tirade of De Bleeckere was definitive dissent and while one could understand his frustration, there is no excuse for him unloading it onto the official. - http://referees.worldcupblog.org/
The list goes on, and on.
Watching the games this year, and the awful officiating, the clear violations that are overlooked, the unearned goals that are allowed, and the proper goals that are cancelled. One never focused on these blatant violations before, believing it to exist only on the street-pitches, the minor leagues, but never, ever, ever in the World Cup.
Class is a missing element in training nowadays. How many players feign injuries in order to give their team an advantage?
The oldest, unwritten law of the playground, that all boys must abide by is "I will not tell". Therefore, a child would conclude that these players are not men, as they are so quick to tattle and tell.
It is my firm belief that more has to be done to punish those that toy with the rules. If a player illegally prevents a goal from the other team from being scored, asides from sending them off the pitch, a hefty fine must be imposed upon them, and the opposing team must be given 2 opportunities to score, much like basketball.
Ghana was robbed of a victory. All the talk on the internet about how it was an honest mistake on Luis Suarez's part and how it ended with the missed penalty shot is rubbish. Suarez is an international player, he should know better. And for those who claim he did for the 3.5million watching at home who have never reached the semi-finals in so long, well what of the 23million in Ghana, whose hopes were crushed?
The fallout of this world cup is staggering. France is thrown into turmoil, Nigerian President Goodluck has banned the team from playing internationally for two years, Japanese & Italian Coach call it quits, The fate of The English coach is still unknown.
The age of chivalry and good conduct is long dead.
No comments:
Post a Comment