12 Apr 2018 21:10:38
As Felipe Massa once said, ‘I know how to win, I know how to lose. Sadly, the greatest goalkeeper of his generation doesn’t know how to lose. Nobody died, it was a game of football and one team had to win and one team had to lose. We can argue about the penalty but the decision was made and nothing was going to change it. Get over it, get on with your life, congratulate the opposition and hold your head high. Lose like a man you wuss.
The reaction of Buffon and the Italian press sums up everything that is wrong with our game. The recent cheating scandal in cricket led to a witch hunt against 3 cricketers, yet footballers seek to gain unfair advantages in every game. There’s the small things, appealing for throw ins and corners that they know aren’t theirs, putting the ball an inch outside of the quadrant at corners, wasting time in a way that they can get away with, wrestling players in the area. Then there’s the next level, waving imaginary cards to get an opposition player booked, mouthing off to the referee and his assistants when they don’t get a decision, diving when there has been no contact.
Buffon’s reaction was in the heat of the moment but to then make the statements he did was outrageous. Many decisions are contentious, even with VAR there have been disagreements over whether a penalty should have been given (I disagreed with the one against England) but rubbish happens. Football needs to take a long hard look at itself in the way that Australian cricket is having to do. There has been a gradual erosion of any semblance of fair play, winning is everything at any cost.
If you mouth off to a referee you should be booked (minimum), if you gesticulate, wag your finger, shake you head, or sarcastically applaud you should be booked, if you waste time you should be booked, if you hold a player or pull a shirt you should be booked, if you wave an imaginary card you should be booked.
The governing bodies need to take back control of the game and slap the players down. They are too big for their boots and the clubs are too powerful so the officials are kicked around in the press. The standard of refereeing may not be great but the way Managers talk about refs is not on. I can’t not support my team but I really hope my boy finds another sport to follow. The behaviour in football is not an example I want him to aspire to.
12 Apr 2018 21:44:48
Top post. Football needs to move along the lines of rugby. I recall Dylan Hartley getting a huge ban for calling Wayne Barnes a F’ing Cheat.
12 Apr 2018 21:59:14
I'd give him the benefit of the doubt, Tony. I know he did wrong, but for me, he's got a lot of classy actions and behaviour in the bank.
12 Apr 2018 23:31:00
and the buffoon said navas is better than de gea, i think that said it all.
12 Apr 2018 22:59:05
Theres been cheating going on in cricket for years its just that Australia got caught but your right in regards to tougher punishments should be dished out to players that show dissent towards officials.
13 Apr 2018 03:23:49
Real madrid and Barcelona are always favoured in europe
. Remember nani's red card.
13 Apr 2018 06:14:04
It’s not just Buffon Stevie, he’s just the latest aggressive example. Week after week players gesticulate and swear at officials and no action is taken. We ask why fans behave so badly, perhaps it’s because of what they see on the pitch.
There are things chanted at games that would get you arrested if you did it anywhere else but nothing is said. Our own club issued a statement asking fans to stop singing a song about Lukaku’s penis, but they don’t seem bothered about the vile chants directed at Liverpool fans. My boy’s first experience of the C word was at OT sung by 1000’s at the top of their voice. Football has lost its way at so many levels.
Fans talk about hating other teams, hate is a strong word (as you well know) . All perspective appears to have been lost, I have no answers but the game is heading in the wrong direction and nobody n authority seems to care.
{Ed001's Note - it is a big change from the 1930s. I was doing research for an article and found a big furore about the behaviour of football fans back then. It created a big fuss because they jeered opposing teams and 'lacked respect'. The football authorities responded by saying that they behaved better than cricket fans at least! I think cricket fans must have upset locals by snoring too loudly or something, I can't imagine anything else anyone would do when they watch that snoozefest ;-)
13 Apr 2018 06:47:27
I pressed send too early. I th No it’s been a creeeping sickness where little things start to become accepted and then mor elittle things and it just gradually gets worse. People shrug their shoulders and we all move on. The attack on the actor bus was obscene yet I doubt any lessons will be learned or anything will be done. City are outraged but look at the behavioir of some of their fans in the return leg, the irony is lost on them.
Players take serious abuse but if they give any back fans are outraged and the police are sometimes asked to get involved. Players are fair game because they earn a lot of money and are in the public eye. Really? Is that what our society has become? It’s not just football, you only have to look at social media to see he moral vacuum that exists across a whole swathe of society which is why people roll their eyes and accept some of the things that go on.
Football can be a force for good, in some ways it is, but it is missing so much opportunity to take the lead. I don’t think we will ever fix it, things have gone too far. We have had fans attacking players, players attacking referees, these are extreme examples but every week players are screaming at officials whilst the watching mob chants obscenities. So, where along the way the word ‘sport’ took on a whole new meaning.
{Ed001's Note - it has never gone too far for people to make changes, just look at how the #metoo movement has taken hold. It just needs people to stand together and refuse to accept the situation any longer. Get a few celebs on board and all the moronic sheep on social media will jump on the bandwagon.}
13 Apr 2018 08:02:54
AJH - I don't think it's just football, society has changed sadly not for the better. At non league level (almost village football) you hear the moronic fans / managers and players using the 'F' word constantly.
You walk through town and you hear women using the 'F' word in normal conversation, not something I want to hear from ladies. I'm not making excuses for the men as it's just as bad but being of a senior age it always sounds worse from women.
Back to football, the situation with players abusing officials has a simple solution, issue yellow / red cards as appropriate and it will soon stop. Not sure why the powers that be don't issue a directive to the officials to clamp down, by not doing so they are condoning the actions. It always amazes me that just because someone pays £40 to watch a game of football they seem to think it entitles them to abuse players / opposing supporters on a level that would not be deemed acceptable in a public place and would most likely lead to their arrest. The very same fans become precious when a player reacts a la Gary Neville against Liverpool and start whinging and whining about it despite the fact they have been abusing the same player all through the game.
Whereas I think behaviour on the pitch can be controlled if the will is there to enforce the laws of the game, I'm not sure how we change society.
13 Apr 2018 08:13:35
Great posts Tony. Completely agree.
13 Apr 2018 08:33:50
Agree totally, mate.
13 Apr 2018 09:59:20
Do you not think juventus where waiting to get shafted?
I think k they expected it.
13 Apr 2018 11:29:51
I think Buffon was on the brink of one of footballs most amazing results and anger and sheer disappointment just spilled out it's not rite but how have we all felt as fans nevermind players when we perceive an injustice has cost us .
Wether refs favour certain teams I don't know but sometimes it certainly can appear that way . I've always thought England have had way more than their fair share of dodgy ref decisions at tournaments phantom goals, iffy sending offs, wrongly disallowed goals, handballs and keepers charging off the line in shootouts . For anyone that plays poker maybe the saying you only remember bad beats and quickly forget when lady luck was on yr side comes to mind . The 66 goal was all that springs to mind for England benefiting, I'm sure there's more but I've long since forgotten the good luck but the bad things IL remember forever . The Irish lads will probably remember Henry's handball way longer than any good fortune they have had .
13 Apr 2018 12:39:40
What do they say,
Rugby is a thugs game played by gentlemen
Football is a gentlemen's game played by thugs.
13 Apr 2018 12:41:25
Smith and Warner both got off lightly. They should've been banned for life. Cheating isn't a mistake its cheating and a few crocodile tears at a press conference doesn't make up for that.
That said its about time football started handing out proper punishments to players and clubs caught cheating.
13 Apr 2018 16:36:45
Some great posts here, something similar came up on lfc's page the other day.
I believe the football authorities should go cap in hand to the rugby refs and copy everything they do, the respect is earned by the refs being consistent in dealing with any disrespectful players.
Ed's 001 I think, suggested straight after a match, the officials sit down and re-watch the match and if any player has cheated, ie dived, retrospective ban, if they missed blatant foul retro card and so on.
People generally want to be honest, the culture in football is just so wrong.
13 Apr 2018 21:17:04
Top top post AJH. Time for a change. org campaign somebody? Or has that been tried?
14 Apr 2018 06:29:47
Well we had the Respect campaign but it had no teeth.
{Ed002's Note - There is nothing decided, agreed or anything else at this time.}