The dirty tricks and skulduggery which were once an infamous hallmark of the Libertadores Cup have largely been consigned to the past. Yet the purists will be glad to know that South America’s version of the Champions League retains a rough edge long lost to its European counterpart.
Crowds are still packed into standing-room terraces behind the goals, with some fans happily setting off firecrackers in the midst of the throng, and riot police use their shields to protect visiting players from missiles when they take corners.
Perhaps in these circumstances, it is not surprising that the concept of “fair play” has not quite caught on. Take Thursday’s match between defending champions Internacional (Brazil) and Nacional (Uruguay) in Porto Alegre.
With five minutes left, Internacional were 1-0 ahead but needed two more to qualify. Then Nacional goalkeeper Fernando Muslera collapsed under the slightest of touches from an opponent, found the strength to kick the ball into touch and went down again. This prompted the predictable delay as he was treated for his “injury” before the game restarted with a throw-in.
But here’s the good bit. Instead of handing the ball back to the Uruguayans, Internacional kept possession and started a new attack. In Europe, as Simon Baskett wrote on this blog recently, such an incident would have led to all sorts of recriminations, yet the Uruguayans did not bat a collective eye-lid.
Nacional, who eventually got the 1-0 defeat they needed, spent the entire game time-wasting, so much so that Adrian Romero was booked for it after only three minutes. But at least they didn’t expect to be given the ball back afterwards.
Brian Homewood is a Reuters sports correspondent based in Rio de Janeiro
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5 comments so far
Giving the ball back to the opposition after a player has been injured started as a fair play thing. However the spirit of this, although well placed, has now been lost as it has become increasingly abused by so caleld ‘professional’ footballers - probably at the behest of their tactically aware managers.
It’s about time the whole thing was kicked into touch.
- Posted by JimYep, it should be up to the refs (or even a video official) to make the call. I´m glad Internacional didn´t give the ball back if it was an obvious con.
- Posted by JonIt’s a shame Internacional have been knocked out. They were terrific last season and stunned Sao Paulo in the final, especially in the first, away leg. Having lost the prolific Rafael Sobis to Betis - a seemingly inevitable fate for clubs if a player scores plenty of goals - retention of the Libertadores was always unlikely.
PS Brian - from what I watch of South American football, mainly from Argentina, referees seem to well respected the majority of the time, even though one would expect their position to be more vulnerable than, say, in Europe, because of riots or the role of ‘ultra’ fans and the huge influence football bears in countries like Argentina. Is this the case? Are referees well protected by the footballing authorities?
I must add that the level of officiating in South America is of a very high standard (which clearly helps), indicated by their performances in last year’s World Cup - one refereed a semi and Elizondo the final.
- Posted by MattI agree, Matt. The South American refs were of a higher standard than the more famous European variety (Merk, Michel, etc) at the World Cup.
- Posted by LondonMatt
In general, yes, I think you’re right. At the first sign of trouble in South America, you’ll see truncheon-wielding riot police run onto the pitch to protect the match officials. South American referees also impose more respect because there is none of that long-winded lecturing of players which you see so often in, for example, the English premiership. They either give an offending player a card or they don’t and that’s the end of the matter. Finally, the South American Football Confederation set a good example earlier this year by handing a one-year ban to a Brazilian player who pushed the referee after a match in the South American under-20 championship.
- Posted by Brian Homewood