Saturday, August 04, 2007
Empty slogans
Persija Jakarta were deservedly beaten 3-0 today at Pelita Jaya in a one sided contest down in Purwakarta but while coach Dubrovin will have a few anxious days trying to fix the error strewn defence I must sound like a worn record.
Football today is about winning, I'm not naive enough to believe players should be all twee and polite and back slapping jolly fellows. They go out to win a game by fair means or, if not possible, foul. If by foul then there are laws which should be upheld to stop the game descending into farce and it is the job of the match official to ensure the rules are followed.
The antics of Chirtian Lopez today when he went down under a clumsy challenge from Hamka Hamzah were a disgrace and while there may be no law that specifically says you shouldn't roll around like a mud wrestler training solo, surely there are other laws that cover ungentlemanly conduct?
I don't blame Lopez for trying it on. I don't blame the coach Fandi Ahmad who will look back on a good performance, and it was good, and a good three points. Fingers should start being pointed at the ref or the linesman under whose eyes this happened. They were quick to flash Hamka the red but surely Lopez should have also faced some sanction? Apart from anything else he was bringing the game into disrepute by trying to get an opponent dismissed.
Before the game the players were led on to the field by a FIFA Fair Play banner. Why? It means nothing all the time players can roll around like twats at will and escape any punishment. Indeed, be rewarded. That ain't fair play, it's a mockery. So while the AFC congratulate themselves on an exciting Asian Cup perhaps they can tear themselves away from the gloamour and back to the tedium of day to day affairs. Perhaps they can start issuing instructions to member leagues that remind match officials they have a duty to penalise all foul play and that foul play can extend from fouler to foulee.
Is Fair Play nothing but a slogan dreamt up by some committee member somewhere who thinks football would be a better game if we all shook hands more often or does it have a meaning. For me, for now, it is as relevant and useful as alcohol free beer.
Football today is about winning, I'm not naive enough to believe players should be all twee and polite and back slapping jolly fellows. They go out to win a game by fair means or, if not possible, foul. If by foul then there are laws which should be upheld to stop the game descending into farce and it is the job of the match official to ensure the rules are followed.
The antics of Chirtian Lopez today when he went down under a clumsy challenge from Hamka Hamzah were a disgrace and while there may be no law that specifically says you shouldn't roll around like a mud wrestler training solo, surely there are other laws that cover ungentlemanly conduct?
I don't blame Lopez for trying it on. I don't blame the coach Fandi Ahmad who will look back on a good performance, and it was good, and a good three points. Fingers should start being pointed at the ref or the linesman under whose eyes this happened. They were quick to flash Hamka the red but surely Lopez should have also faced some sanction? Apart from anything else he was bringing the game into disrepute by trying to get an opponent dismissed.
Before the game the players were led on to the field by a FIFA Fair Play banner. Why? It means nothing all the time players can roll around like twats at will and escape any punishment. Indeed, be rewarded. That ain't fair play, it's a mockery. So while the AFC congratulate themselves on an exciting Asian Cup perhaps they can tear themselves away from the gloamour and back to the tedium of day to day affairs. Perhaps they can start issuing instructions to member leagues that remind match officials they have a duty to penalise all foul play and that foul play can extend from fouler to foulee.
Is Fair Play nothing but a slogan dreamt up by some committee member somewhere who thinks football would be a better game if we all shook hands more often or does it have a meaning. For me, for now, it is as relevant and useful as alcohol free beer.
# posted by Me @ 6:57 PM 
