For all the soccer critics this is one thing that makes soccer stand out above the crowd. All sports have participants who try to gain an advantage by fooling the system but I can't think of any other sport where there are more incidents of good sportsmanship than in the Beautiful Game. http://www.latimes.com/sports/socce...la-headlines-sports-soccer&ctrack=8&cset=true
I don't know if you heard but a Leicester City player, Clive Clarke collapsed a few weeks ago during a Carling Cup match against Nottingham Forest, and the match was abandoned with Forest winning 1-0. The replay was the other night, and on kick off, Leicester allowed Forests keeper to score a goal unopposed. Eventually City won the game on penalties. Secondly former Leeds great Frank Gray, part of the Dirty Leeds team of Don Revie, managing Greys Athletic in the Conference, told his players to give their opponents an equaliser after their player had put the ball out when a Greys player went down injured. The ball was played back to the keeper but looped into the net. Giving them a goal back cost Gray his job, and Greys promotion. There is still some sportsmanship, but until players and teams no longer benefit through cheating, it will always happen.
Leedsunited, Well, I went back and went to the trouble to get through LAtimes login screen and such as I hadn't heard the news about the replay, and in the context of good sportsmanship, there is still plenty on display in soccer. Thanks for the examples. I shouldn't dwell on the negative - the Jesse Marsch element, as I like to call it. I still dream of a league where no players interfere with dead balls, call for throw-ins, corners, or free kicks that they know they don't deserve.
Unfortunately until FIFA retrospectively punish cheating more severely it will be everpresent. Booking for diving doesn't work. The Scottish FA tried to introduce retrospective trial by video, much like they have, very successfully in Rugby League, and were denied permission to try it. In Rugby, the referee has a video official he can refer decisions to, and can also put players 'on report'. This means that if he is unsure that an incident warrants punishment, such as a sneaky punch, stamp or any kind of cheating, he puts the player officially on report, and this is reviewed by an independant panel, after the game, and can result in bans or fines. In case of cheating which gives benefit to the team, the usual punishment is a three match suspension.
So he's a weee bit fascist, and likes to push referees. Still deserves credit for this: [youtube]9NQ1GFGSYKY[/youtube] I'd also like to mention that a player I've despised over the last few years, Cristiano Ronaldo, displayed an impressive amount of grace while scoring against his old club Sporting Lisbon the other night in the Champion's League, bowing almost apologetically to the Sporting supporters and declining any big celebration. And he was repaid with a pretty amazing standing ovation at his substitution by supporters of the team he had beaten with his goal. Pretty great stuff.
Doncaster Rovers v Bury http://www.espnfc.us/blog/the-toe-p...ncaster-rovers-allow-bury-to-walk-the-ball-in