Saturday, July 15, 2006
Especially for you - Jason Donovan & Kylie Minogue
It sure makes a difference if you are somebody! I mean, if it was some other player who headbutted another in the finals of the World Cup, that player would be given a 5 match ban, a fine and be disgraced for the rest of his life.
But if that player is Zidane – arguably the best footballer in modern times, things are different.
Earlier in the tournament, it was said that Ronaldo lost out on the most promising young player allegedly for his role in getting Rooney sent off and for diving – both of which cannot be proven conclusively (see here).
But while millions of viewers saw Zidane commit a crime on the pitch, he still wins the Golden Balls award (which IMHO shud be given to Carvalho since he got his kicked by Rooney…).
Speaking of crime, Lee Bowyer, the bad-boy of English football got fined in a Criminal Magistrate’s Court for hitting out at another player (ironically, his team-mate) during a match. Northumbria chief crown prosecutor Nicola Reasbeck got it spot on IMHO when she said: "The criminal law doesn't cease to operate once you cross the touchline of a sports field" (see here).
There must have been something said to cause Lee to react like that – but hey, we’re talking about Lee Bowyer! Guilty! No excuse.
Zidane? People have been queuing up (even longer than the lines for Wimbledon!) to justify his cowardly act – so forget about Criminal charges against him – even if justice is allegedly blind, she must be a footie fan too!
Instead now, the focus is turned to the victim – Metarazzi. He is the villain now. He must pay. How dare he cause such a blemish on the wonderful record of a great footballer???
I thought it interesting what Metarazzi’s agent said. He was citing Francesco Totti's three-game ban for spitting at Denmark's Christian Poulsen during Euro 2004 as an example.
"I wonder why Fifa didn't open up a case against Poulsen two years ago in the European Championships in Portugal after the reaction of Totti.
"Totti was banned for four games, which was reduced to three, and nothing happened to Poulsen - this is absolutely a similar case.
"If they want to attack a player for what he keeps saying on the pitch, they will be very busy in the future because it's quite normal that players shout to each other in a game - especially when it's such a stressful game."
Read the report here.
Look, I have nothing personal against Zidane. If you had been at the SU Bar at the end of the Brazil France game, you would have seen me along wif quite a big number of Brazilian fans all applauding Zidane's wonderful performance.
But it just irks me that just because one is famous and talented, then one gets “special” treatment – while others dun. Where is the justice in all this? All professional footballers – and of other sports too – have to learn how to deal wif all these psychological verbal attacks during games. It’s part and parcel of it all, isn’t it?
Having said that, upon further reflection – while still unhappy at the injustice of it all – I think that some good may come out of all this after all. Ask me 10 to 15 years ago and I would have dismiss talk that these kind of provocation is all part and parcel of the game. It shouldn’t be. Altho there are no explicit rules - since FIFA is too busy deciding on what is an offside and what is a red-card offence - on this (please correct me if I am wrong), this should not be encouraged at all. Ideally, the game should be won on skills alone, not on underhand psychological tactics. Sure, skills include being mentally strong – but distasteful comments should not be tolerated. There should be mutual respect among all sportsman, shouldn’t there?
So perhaps this incident may just be the catalyst for FIFA to erradicate this practice in football. Too idealistic? I used to be. It’s still not to late to revert back to one.
p/s - woke up this morning to shocking news of Juve et al being punished! Champions League without Juve & AC Milan? At least this shows that in Italy, there are efforts to protect the integrity of football! Now the footie world awaits wif bated breath as we see the exodus of world class players from Juve, Lazio, Forentina and even perhaps AC Milan! Summer sale has begun! Check out who's on offer here!
But if that player is Zidane – arguably the best footballer in modern times, things are different.
Earlier in the tournament, it was said that Ronaldo lost out on the most promising young player allegedly for his role in getting Rooney sent off and for diving – both of which cannot be proven conclusively (see here).
But while millions of viewers saw Zidane commit a crime on the pitch, he still wins the Golden Balls award (which IMHO shud be given to Carvalho since he got his kicked by Rooney…).
Speaking of crime, Lee Bowyer, the bad-boy of English football got fined in a Criminal Magistrate’s Court for hitting out at another player (ironically, his team-mate) during a match. Northumbria chief crown prosecutor Nicola Reasbeck got it spot on IMHO when she said: "The criminal law doesn't cease to operate once you cross the touchline of a sports field" (see here).
There must have been something said to cause Lee to react like that – but hey, we’re talking about Lee Bowyer! Guilty! No excuse.
Zidane? People have been queuing up (even longer than the lines for Wimbledon!) to justify his cowardly act – so forget about Criminal charges against him – even if justice is allegedly blind, she must be a footie fan too!
Instead now, the focus is turned to the victim – Metarazzi. He is the villain now. He must pay. How dare he cause such a blemish on the wonderful record of a great footballer???
I thought it interesting what Metarazzi’s agent said. He was citing Francesco Totti's three-game ban for spitting at Denmark's Christian Poulsen during Euro 2004 as an example.
"I wonder why Fifa didn't open up a case against Poulsen two years ago in the European Championships in Portugal after the reaction of Totti.
"Totti was banned for four games, which was reduced to three, and nothing happened to Poulsen - this is absolutely a similar case.
"If they want to attack a player for what he keeps saying on the pitch, they will be very busy in the future because it's quite normal that players shout to each other in a game - especially when it's such a stressful game."
Read the report here.
Look, I have nothing personal against Zidane. If you had been at the SU Bar at the end of the Brazil France game, you would have seen me along wif quite a big number of Brazilian fans all applauding Zidane's wonderful performance.
But it just irks me that just because one is famous and talented, then one gets “special” treatment – while others dun. Where is the justice in all this? All professional footballers – and of other sports too – have to learn how to deal wif all these psychological verbal attacks during games. It’s part and parcel of it all, isn’t it?
Having said that, upon further reflection – while still unhappy at the injustice of it all – I think that some good may come out of all this after all. Ask me 10 to 15 years ago and I would have dismiss talk that these kind of provocation is all part and parcel of the game. It shouldn’t be. Altho there are no explicit rules - since FIFA is too busy deciding on what is an offside and what is a red-card offence - on this (please correct me if I am wrong), this should not be encouraged at all. Ideally, the game should be won on skills alone, not on underhand psychological tactics. Sure, skills include being mentally strong – but distasteful comments should not be tolerated. There should be mutual respect among all sportsman, shouldn’t there?
So perhaps this incident may just be the catalyst for FIFA to erradicate this practice in football. Too idealistic? I used to be. It’s still not to late to revert back to one.
p/s - woke up this morning to shocking news of Juve et al being punished! Champions League without Juve & AC Milan? At least this shows that in Italy, there are efforts to protect the integrity of football! Now the footie world awaits wif bated breath as we see the exodus of world class players from Juve, Lazio, Forentina and even perhaps AC Milan! Summer sale has begun! Check out who's on offer here!
# posted by imissw : 3:20:00 pm
