Double standards reign following Suarez handball
Posted on January 7, 2013 9:28 pm
In yesterday’s FA Cup third round match between non-league Mansfield and Liverpool, Liverpool were leading 0-1 when midway in the second half, Liverpool’s Luis Suarez was running through on goal and had a shot. The Mansfield goalkeeper came rushing out and got his body in the way of the shot. The ball ricocheted upwards, hit Suarez’s hand and went towards goal.
You can see for yourself here, pay special attention to the second gif, which shows the incident at full speed. Watch where Suarez’s arm ends up, behind his body. If he deliberately trying to push the ball forwards, his arm would have ended up in front of him.
Nobody is denying the ball struck Suarez’s hand but Suarez didn’t move his already outstretched hand towards the ball; it came at him far too fast for him to have done so even if he had wanted to, but as the ball had clearly hit his hand, everyone, Suarez included, expected the whistle to blow. It didn’t.
Bob Paisley once said “If you’re in the penalty area and don’t know what to do with the ball, put it in the net and we’ll discuss the options later” Suarez followed that advice and tapped the ball in. Mansfield’s players immediately appealed for handball, but the referee allowed the goal to stand and Suarez rather sheepishly trotted back towards the centre circle.
That goal came at a time where Mansfield, helped by a potato patch of a pitch that put paid to Liverpool’s passing game, were putting real pressure on the Liverpool goal, with Liverpool having to scramble the ball away on several occasions. Mansfield were momentarily subdued following Liverpool’s second goal, but recovered to pull a goal back and finish the game strongly, and were unlucky not to at least get a draw. They were very unlucky to lose in that manner.
All the focus after the game was on the actions of Suarez. The commentator for ESPN (who were the broadcasters of the game in the UK), Jon Champion, decided to abandon the usual commentator’s stance of impartiality and left viewers in no doubt of his feelings by saying “That, I’m afraid, is the work of a cheat”
ESPN have subsequently reprimanded Champion, but stopped short of apologising for one of their commentator committing libel. That commentary was later repeated on a more mainstream channel’s highlight package. Champion also suggested that Suarez’s kiss of his wrist, where there is a tattoo of his daughter’s name, following the goal, was a deliberate ploy to rub it in the face of Mansfield fans, despite that being something he does every time he scores.
The media were salivating at the chance to go after Suarez, which they have done with their usual gusto. Many are of the opinion that Suarez possesses superhuman reflexes and it was a deliberate handball. Others are begrudgingly saying that the handball was accidental, but say that Suarez’s failure to tell the referee is a clear-cut case of cheating. The minority, who are being drowned out, are of the opinion that it was accidental and any other player would have kept their mouth shut, so Suarez shouldn’t be treated any differently.
Sure, Suarez could’ve told the referee the ball hit his hand and would’ve been nice of him to do so, but not doing something good doesn’t mean you’ve done something bad. Anyway, reports seem to suggest that the officials did see the ball hit Suarez’s hand, but as it was accidental rather than deliberate contact, allowed play to continue. Former referee Graham Poll suggested in his column today, that even had Suarez had said it touched his hand, the call wouldn’t have changed anyway.
Players aren’t expected to enforce the rules. That’s why there are referees. One of the first things you get taught when learning to play football is ‘play to the whistle’, which means you keep playing until a referee stops you. If the referee makes a mistake and doesn’t make a call when they should, that’s on him, not you.
When was the last time you saw a player say “No, no, it’s their throw-in”? What about “I was holding his shirt on that corner ref, give them a penalty”? Or “You got that one wrong ref, it wasn’t a fair challenge and I deserve a booking” How many times have you seen a player go “Give them the goal, the ball was over the line”?
What about a goalie saying “He should probably take that penalty he missed again, I was putting him off”? Perhaps a player saying “I wasn’t really injured then, I was just trying to waste time”? Or, a manager saying “with all the time we’ve been wasting, you should add on a few more minutes?
Have you ever seen that, ever? Me neither.
What those in England currently howling with righteous indignation seem to forget is that these incidents happen a lot in one form or another in games. How many times have you seen a ball hit a defenders hand in the area, but nothing is given? Now in how many of those incidents did you see the defender in question ask the referee to award a
penalty? And how many of those players who didn’t own up have been vilified for dishonesty?
Many in the media here in England are very much pursuing the ‘dirty foreigner’ angle, which they especially like to use against Suarez, who has made himself an easy target. They seem to forget there are several occasions where England have been on the benefit of a bad refereeing call and England kept quiet and got on with the game.
In EURO 2012 in the England v Ukraine match, England were leading 1-0 when John Terry cleared a Ukrainian shot, which clearly crossed the line. The AAR, despite being extremely close, missed it and no goal was given. The four England players who were closest to the ball could’ve said the ball had gone in. Instead, they left the call up to the official. No one called them cheats after the game.
They may also want to remind themselves of Tony Pulis’ comments after Stoke’s Peter Crouch deliberately controlled the ball with his hand before scoring. Pulis, who has been on a moral crusade against divers this season (though strangely his anti-diving rhetoric usually surfaces when he thinks one of his players has done something a disciplinary panel may be interested in), said “if Peter’s got away with it, then brilliant”. Nobody made anywhere near the fuss that’s being made over Suarez at present even though that was a far more deliberate handball.
How about the booking Gareth Bale received for diving against Sunderland a couple of weeks ago? Bale got booked after a challenge in the area despite replays showing Sunderland’s Craig Gardner made contact with him. Gardner didn’t go to the referee and tell him to rescind the card and award a penalty. Nobody called him a cheat after the game.
For all those people out there seething with false rage over this incident, let me ask you this: How many times have you walked into a police station and reported yourself for speeding when no cop or camera saw you? How many times have you requested a ticket for parking illegally when nobody caught you? I’m sure every time you’ve jaywalked you’ve found the nearest policeman and asked to be cited, right?
In any sport, or anything in life, where there are rules. There will be occasions where you get away with something that strictly speaking you shouldn’t. Usually you will keep quiet and count your blessings and remember the times when things go against you. That’s what Luis Suarez did, that’s what players and fans of almost every club will do in most games when a call goes in their favour. It doesn’t make you dishonest, it makes you human.
Perhaps the final word on this incident should go to Mansfield manager Paul Cox, the person probably most entitled to feel aggrieved. When asked if he thought Suarez had cheated he said
“No I don’t. For me to come out and say something like that I think would be quite cheap. If it had gone in the other end and one of our players had done it I think we’d have accepted it.
“This is the FA Cup, this is the beauty of it, sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it doesn’t.
“It’s a beautiful game and for me he’s a fabulous talent and for this country we’re lucky to have him here. I don’t think we should call him for doing something that I think 99 out of 100 players would do.”
If he, the person most affected, doesn’t think Suarez cheated, how can anyone else?
Suarez is a cheat. Sue me.
Having said that, I’m not sure he cheated in this instance. I don’t think this “his arm went backwards” stuff is germane though. If he were intent on cheating, he might well have tried to control the ball as opposed to knock it forward. It’s conceivable that the momentum of the ball might have knocked arm back regardless. Otoh, as pointed out, the ball rebounds a short distance from the ‘keeper against an arm already away from Suarez’s body (as was his left arm).
Oh, as for the wrist kissing thing, maybe the classy thing for Suarez to have done was not celebrate that goal in any fashion at all?
Question for you. Is Thierry Henry a cheat as well? Or is that a title solely held by Suarez?
It doesn’t make any sense to consider accidental contact “cheating” when the player doesn’t know anything about it.
“Have you ever seen that, ever?”
Miroslav Klose (although that is just one case).
I was going to reference Klose, but it’s not quite the same. Klose was asked by the referee if he’d handled it, rather than volunteering that information himself; in this case, the ref had seen the ball hit Suarez’s hand and ruled it accidental.
What gives you the right to besmirch the good name of British tabloids…oh wait, nevermind, carry on.
With that said, Suarez put that bullseye squarely on his back (in the most public way possible) when he decided to start playing volleyball in the WC. No one should be surprised when the media (pick any country outside of Uruguay) jumps at any opportunity to take a shot at him.
Saw this last night on Fox. Replayed it over and over from the angles given. His hand did make a motion forward. It was a hand ball. Should have been disallowed.
Totally agree the goal should have been disallowed, the arm was in an outstretched position away from his body if the ref saw it and allowed it then I think it was a mistake by the ref. At the same time if he did move his arm to knock it into the net he has the reflexes of a chinchilla. He would have to move his arm then literally the millisecond it hits his arm jerk it back and behind him. That is impressive. (and had the sense to stand there dumbfounded for a second to make it seem like he was surprised by the handball)
Oh…and let’s not forget what Saurez did AFTER he scored. He kissed his HAND…then thought better and kissed his wrist. He knew damn well what he did and what he got away with. An honest player would have told the ref (Klose) and been a gentleman. But one does not expect that type of behaviour from Saurez. Really no surprise he did what he did.
He always kisses his wrist that’s how he celebrates he has a tattoo of his daughters name on it. Seriously an honest player, everyone recounts the Klose case because that’s the only time anyone can remember it ever happening. (and for the record the ref asked him if it had hit his hand it’s not like he stopped the game and said hey ref you messed up). Can anyone honestly say this big a stink would have been made if it was any other player? Finally I hate to break it to you but football is not a gentlemen’s sport. If people reporting their own rules violation is important to you then watch Golf.
You missed where he kissed his hand first, then the wrist. You think what was an accident? Please.
In case you missed it look at the end of this video. Kisses the hand first THEN the wrist. That is different than all the other times he has scored and kissed that tatoo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xay7tqXInpY
He kisses his finger for his wife (wedding ring) and his wrist for his daughter (he has a tattoo there).
He’s done it for every one of the 30 goals he’s scored for Liverpool.
I assume because this is an American sight a number of you are US National Team supporters like myself. And of course you all thought Brian Mcbride should have admitted to his handball against Mexico in the 2002 World Cup match.
Of course not. As a Liverpool fan I actually wish the ref had blown for it (honestly watching the match I was torn glad we got the goal because sadly we needed it, but knowing the crap I would have to read today) but do you honestly expect to see a professional footballer stop and say hey ref I handled the ball?
Brian McBride didn’t handle anything in the 2002 WC match.
John O’Brien may or may not have.
Berhalter sure did
John O’Brien, IIRC. And no field player in their right mind intentionally punches a corner kick up and out. It’s almost as if the actions of some other entity may have ended up causing the problem. Perhaps!
I appologize my memory was that it was McBride I was mistaken. Umm but yeh was not any debate about whether he handled it, looked like a Volleyball spike. But the main point was everyone on this board has seen their team benefit from a dubious (or out right wrong) reffing decision, and they weren’t expecting the player to stop and alert the ref.
You want to hear about double standard? Garreth Bale has 5 yellow cards for diving this season. Not in his career, THIS SEASON! Where is the hate campaign? Where are the idiots wishing a career ending injury? The only difference between him and Suarez is that Luis is South American and we all know they’re the only ones that dive. I was told so by a clown with a British accent in Fox Soccer Channel.
Italians also dive a lot (and the Spanish) but Northern Europeans also do it no doubt, maybe not as much but they do it.
Hand or no hand, Suarez is stealing the show again, hahahaah that guy is funny; also I dont follow the EPL.
Good post.
I am so tired of the Suarez witch hunt. It is tiring. What people refuse to look to is the fact that Suarez has 15 goals already this season. That he has made a great effort to end his diving act. If you have watched the game, he has not gone to ground in many, many weeks and I attribute it to Brandon Rodgers. The player has made the effort to improve his image and is nothing but unlucky that this happened. That said, you can tell that he clearly thought the play would be whistled dead. I would “celebrate” to. It wasn’t his usual goal scoring celebration. Did Henry tell the ref that he handled that ball that kept Ireland from advancing to WC? Hell no.
In the WC, the ref’s got the ball swat call correct. It’s not anybody’s fault but Gyan for not converting the penalty for Ghana. Against Mansfield Town, they got the call wrong. Simple as that.
What’s the point in a guy rehabbing his image if no one will give him his due.
Because to most objective observers his actions have not been as life changing as his fanboys want you to believe. Maybe that’s why even his team mates are not too keen on the prat.
As case in point, DiCanio was considered an Überdouchebag when he played. And yet this single act was talked about for years. For many it changed the way they viewed him and he won over many who thought he was just like Saurez. So let’s not pretent Suarez is somehow inhibited by anything other than his own lack of morals, shall we? If he truly wanted to change the only thing stopping him is himself. Hiding behind the lack of a referee call or saying “everyone does it” or “no one else would admit it” is just wrong. Period.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWdf5ZLbtYo
Meh. He did what he had to do to help his team win. Just like against Ghana, except this time he didn’t get caught. Good for him.
Also, if the Ghanaian who took the PK had scored, we wouldn’t be talking about that still today.
….you’re kidding, right? Yeah, Henry didn’t tell the ref. And he’s been boiled for it ever since. Americans still haven’t forgiven Frings, and that was over a decade ago. “Suarez is getting called a cheat, but what about that other guy who was also called a cheat” doesn’t really fly.
Maradona might be a better example…maybe…except he scored an amazing goal in that same game, and he’s blackened/heightened the comedy of this reputation ever since.
The best way to avoid being called a cheater is to…wait for it…keep waiting…keep waiting…okay…almost…nearly there…nearly…nearly…getting closer…soon…very soon now…not quite…just a little longer…almost there…almost…almost…almost…a bit longer…just one more second…wait for it…wait…not cheat.
so again your assuming he intentionally played the ball with his hand. Otherwise all he did was keep playing when the ref didn’t blow the whistle.
This handball was just the ultimate injustice for poor Mansfield Town.
There were at least three other handballs that went uncalled against Liverpool (as well as other fouls).
The Suarez handball was just the most obvious one.
It seriously looked as if the ref had been bought off.
Doubt if the ref was bought off (if only because Liverpool has been so royally screwed by refs this season that it would make me wonder why we waited for this match to do it) but yeh I hate to agree but I will, we were lucky not to have given up a penalty (or two) just before the Suarez handball.
great blog post! life’s not fair sometimes and neither is football.
It clearly WAS a handball but it’s not Suarez job to enforce the laws of the game, it’s his job to put the ball in the net. If I were the (referee and had seen it) I would have disallowed the goal but not penalized Suarez because I would be unable to determine if it truly was intentional or not. That said, Suarez doesn’t dive any worse than anyone else. Look at how the Italians train?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra7Te6-vzrc
suarez made name for himself when he pulled the hair of other players or how about the time he bit another player did anybody forgot about that? and let’s not forget the diving or the handball at the wc so you can’t just sit there and tell me it’s a witch hunt ’cause it’s not , it’s just suarez has always done something to earn the reputation of a cheat. the only thing i agree on is that of course no one expected for suarez to go to the referee and tell him it was a handball that is just ridiculous.
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