Cheating in football by ken1945
Having asked why some referees seem to ignore their rule book during PL matches, I thought it only fair to follow that up by looking at other sections of our great game to see if they can be accused of the same thing or even, God forbid, actually CHEATING!!
Clubs first then, and there have been proven cases against the likes of Juventus, who were found guilty of match rigging with the help of (OH NO!!) bent referees.
Of course, we have the impending 100 plus charges against Man City to witness, while Barcelona are caught up in a legal mess as well.
Then we have instances of Managers being found guilty of accepting bribes, one very close to home.
George Graham was sacked, after being found guilty of accepting £425,000 from an agent.
Sam Allardyce, while England manager, was forced to resign after being recorded, among other things, advising how to avoid the HMRC.
But the REAL thrust of the argument by some on JA, was about cheating by players on the field.
The biggest ever English scandal occurred OFF the field in 1964, when three Sheffield Wednesday players were found guilty of betting against their own team, while actually playing in the match itself. They were given prison sentences and banned from football for life.
There are hundreds of cases of players found guilty or admitting to cheating, also with everything from drug addiction to affairs with the wives of fellow players and everything in between.
Also, we have cases of bullying, harassment, late night orgies etc etc, but it’s the on-field behaviour that some want to concentrate on.
Again, we can look very close to home, when it was proven by the camera, that Thierry Henry handled the ball in a world cup qualifier – some insist that Robert Pires dived to keep our Invincible run going – the infamous Maradona handball – the Ronaldo wink when Rooney was sent off and who can forget Suarez twice biting opponents?!?!
All examples of players cheating, but the only one punished was Suarez… amazing.
So, let’s look at what happens during every game, be it high profile or not (why that should make a difference I still don’t understand).
We see players appealing for every throw in, corner kick, goal kick, handball and foul no matter HOW absurd their claim is.
It’s become part and parcel of today’s football, from the grass root level through to the highest level.
Referees have the rules and regulations to stop this with the use of the red or yellow card, but rarely use it… it does, however, work!!
We saw it happen when Chelsea were reduced to 10 men versus 11 in the high-profile cup final against The Arsenal and, if we are to stamp this out, more referees should use their powers to stop it.
Make no mistake, while players can get away with it, they will do it time and time again, as was seen in the recent city game.
The laws are there, but rarely used – take surrounding the referee after a decision has been made – a law was introduced that only the captain of a team could ask the referee why, but we see it every week being ignored by the players and officials.
I have great sympathy for the referee in these circumstances, being shouted at, sworn at, and, quite frankly, bullied…BUT, use the law, send or caution every time it happens, and players will soon learn their lesson.
My PLEA to the PGMOL is to ensure the referees do their job to the letter of the law, nothing more and nothing less.
That way, they can weed out the on-field cheating that we see so much of, and earn the respect of the players, the fans and uphold the integrity of the game… after all, you are the officials.
Be consistent in every game, allow fans to hear why a contentious decision has been made after the game.
Be accountable for your actions.
——
My PLEA to the PLAYERS, is to stop the cheating, the obnoxious behaviour, show respect to the officials and accept decisions.
You will then, also, earn the respect of the referees and the fans.
Be accountable for your actions.
—–
My PLEA to MANAGERS is to stamp out all the above cheating, drop players who try to con the public, referee and other professionals.
Don’t make excuses, fans can see what goes on – believe it or not.
Tell the fans WHY a player has been dropped under these circumstances and YOU will earn the respect of the referees and fans.
Be accountable for your actions.
—-
If all three parties did this, the corruption of our wonderful game would stop immediately. in my opinion.
ken1945… living in hope!!
———————————————————————–
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
