Sir Alex, I Hear You

Perhaps you’ve seen the stylish Nike ad touting Joga Bonit0, which I believe translates to “Play Beautiful” in Portuguese. Eric Cantona - Manchester United’s most-beloved player of all time - commandeers a German sportscast to implore the viewers to bring passion and beauty back to football. The idea is to kick the cheats out and restore honor and integrity to our tarnished game.

But this will not happen from the bottom-up, it must begin from the top-down. The superstars, the millionairres are the ones who will be responsible if this should occur. For it is from them that the world’s youth learn to emulate their conniving, manipulative, win-at-all-costs methods.

Of course, most professional footballers do play with honor, but still many do not. And perhaps there is some truth in Alex Ferguson’s recent comments that the rulebook favors the cheaters. Maybe when a referee is absolutely convinced that a player has taken a dive he should be allowed to show the red card followed by a lengthy ban based on video evidence. I guarantee you, if a player is forced to sit out for four or five games he might think twice about trying to trick the referee in the future.

And what about admitted cheaters like Chelsea’s Didier Drogba who admitted this past weekend that he has no qualms using his hands to play the ball, figuring that if he can’t get away with it then the worst that will happen is he’ll receive a caution. RED I say! Give referees the authority to decide whether or not a player should be sent off or merely cautioned when the ball is deliberately handled. And follow it up with video evidence and a lengthy ban if it appears that a player has brought the game into disrepute.

There are many options that could be considered, like introducing a blue card - two-minute penalty - like is employed in indoor soccer. Maybe even a five or ten-minute penalty is needed as well. Perhaps players should be sent off in some cases but be allowed to be replaced like we do in high school soccer for players guilty of taunting their opponents.

Whatever’s needed, FIFA should consider it. While we’re at it, maybe do away with offside. Do we really need it? It seems to create more controversy than it’s worth. Maybe then the two assistant referees could focus on only calling fouls and determining whether or not the ball is in or out of play.

The bottom line is this, our game seems to be at a crossroads. Cheats and scoundrels are a growing menace to the sanctity of the sport. Football has always had its critics and perhaps they will always exist. Maybe that’s the nature of competition. But it’s clear that something needs to be done to put the serial violators on notice.

As fans, we should demand a spirit of fair play and integrity from those we pay to watch. If they can’t live up to those standards, then perhaps the game’s governing body will have to provide referees the tools to ensure that they will.

And that’s today’s view from the middle.

Until next time…

peace,
ac