I woke up this morning anticipating a great Champions League semi final between two outstanding teams. Barcelona, the champions of Spain and current holder's of Europe's elite competition against Inter Milan, the Italian champions.
After a historic 3-1 result for the Nerazzurri at their Stadio Giuseppe Meazza just one week ago, the stage was set for a scintillating 2nd leg at Barcelona's Camp Nou. In the press conference's leading up to the match, Thiago Motta, a former Barcelona player now plying his trade in the Inter midfield, called for the referee to be strong and not give in the the play antics he anticipated the Spanish team would indulge in knowing they have to win by two goals to advance.
The match started with Barcelona dominating possession. However, the alarming thing to me was the rate at which players on both sides would go down in an attempt to con the referee into awarding a free kick or a card to the opposing team. This is a huge problem in soccer. I am a firm believer that more people would watch soccer if it were not for the diving. The things these players can do with a ball at their feet is simply irresistible. Even for me though, the skill was not enough to keep me watching past 42 minutes.
Thiago Motta, he of the request to ask the referee to be strong, was sent off after 30 minutes for an innocent hand to the neck of Sergio Busquets, who made the most of it. With Busquets chasing him from behind, it should not have even been a yellow card with the amount of contact made. I have been playfully punched harder by my 18 month old nephew than what Busquets was hit by Motta. I thought Busquets had been shot by an Inter supporter the way he went down. I was surprised someone had been able to sneak a gun in to such a high profile event. After seeing the replay I realized that he had not been shot, but rather he produced a performance worthy of an Emmy and got his counterpart in the Italian midfield sent off. This could well effect the outcome of the tie as Barcelona will be playing the remaining hour with a man advantage.
I love watching all sports. Earlier in the year I saw Ian Laperriere, a hockey player for the Philadelphia Flyers, get struck in the face with a slap shot going 90 mph and he didn't act the way Busquets acted. Laperriere had seven teeth knocked out, a broken jaw and a cut requiring 100 stitches from his mishap. He came back to play in that game. And he played the next day. Yes, Laperriere may have a few screws loose, but the fact that he respects his profession and the game itself speaks volumes for the integrity of hockey players in general.
The integrity of soccer players worldwide has been in question for numerous years. I think back to Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup. Maradona, one of the greatest soccer players of all time, openly admits to intentionally handling the ball which made its way into the back of the England net and booked Argentina's place in the semi final.
It is time for professional soccer players to respect the game they are fortuitous enough to make a handsome living through. Obviously, the players do not have enough integrity themselves to make the change on their own, so FIFA must step in and do it for them. Cards should be given or rescinded via video replay throughout the match by the fourth official or a team of FIFA official's overseeing the match. As player's will soon find out, their antics will no longer work and they will have to showcase only their God given talent for the world to enjoy. At the moment that seems a big ask, but no doubt it will be better for the game.
PS, would someone let me know who won the game?!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
up and running! Good luck with it son :)
ReplyDeleteTesting, testing... Random pics pop up that I'm trying to figure out...
ReplyDelete