Comments on: Theatricals starting to spoil the football

By: Simon

Simon — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:16:23 +0000

This article is so on the spot. I watched the last 20 minutes of the final and couldn’t stand watching it with all the theatrics of Spain going on. Yeah they were the more talented side, but the authorities should not allow all the acting to go on.

By: Luke

Luke — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:39:41 +0000

GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE OF ITALIAN PLAYERS FALLING DOWN??? Do you pathetic poms have nothing better to talk about? How about discussing WHY YOU ARE NOT THERE????

By: Raul

Raul — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:57:35 +0000

You potentially make a good, albeit, fine point about degree of response to contact. I didn’t see the following however: 1- Extended “give me the foul” dramatics, 2- Game-delaying/tempo-changing dramatics and, more importantly, 3- Cheap/Professional fouls by the Spanish team.
The digression here is from the key point - there were real fouls (one, if not, two red cards) that were ignored and yellow card for Villa that was thoroughly derided, again, by Andy Gray.
I think my biggest complaint is to have Italy and Spain put on the same level when Italians did everything (including their usual thuggish behavior) to game the system. I honestly don’t think you can say Spain effectively gamed the system for this game, can you?

By: Erik Kirschbaum

Erik Kirschbaum — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:54:34 +0000

You may be right, Raul, maybe all the fouls against Spain were real. But why did the Spanish players have to fly so dramatically through the air after any contact? I can’t remember seeing any real effort by anyone from Spain to stay on their feet.

By: Raul

Raul — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:24:38 +0000

I can’t agree less with this article. The Spanish played clean futbol and went there to win. The fouls against Spain were real and any embellishments were upon “the real thing.” Italy played for PKs and absolutely destroyed the beauty of the game with their fake roiling on the ground which was REWARDED by this idiot referee. Andy, one of the best commentators, said as much in all regards. His opinion means more than what I’ve seen here from you Erik and even (or especially) mine.

By: clement

clement — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:46:32 +0000

why stop there? what if teams were to punish their own players for that type of nonsense. I believe every penalty awarding dive should be taken with as much severity as the whole Micoud affair at Bordeaux. And maybe even the refs should be penalized for awarding dubious penalties. Might be a little harsh but they’d think twice before every call..

By: Gio

Gio — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:46:19 +0000

Post-match punishment has to be the way forward. If the refree isn’t sure about a dive he should note down the minute and later review the footage. And if it is found to be a dive, there must be a fine in addition to a booking. I would say something in the region of $20,000. So for someone like C. Ronaldo, who averages about 5 dives per game, it’s got to add up over the course of the season or tournament. Even with their riches, I don’t think players would want to dive at that price. Surely, they don’t love their teams that much.

By: Erik Kirschbaum

Erik Kirschbaum — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:33:06 +0000

Holy Cow Warren. The whole world of fan-dom? I actually had thought there were a lot of people in a lot of countries who admire the skills of the divers. I’ve read that some even see it as an art form. I’ve wished hundreds of times that divers would get punished, either on the spot or at least after the match. Doesn’t happen, though, does it? I would have also thought the video evidence would humilate them among their colleagues and fans to the point they’d never do it again. But doesn’t happen, does it? I would have thought that the smarter referees out there would keep a “book” on the divers and be extremely cautious (and sceptical) every time one of the fakers fall while at the same time know which players never go down unless they’ve really been hit. It’d be nice if FIFA could crack down, but we both know that’s not going to happen — so as one small step: how about a little more pre-match homework by the refs? Why don’t the refs pool their information on known divers?

By: warren

warren — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:06:22 +0000

I think the whole world of fandom is with you Erik but unfortunately FIFA isn’t. Whenever the issue is raised they roll out the feeble excuse that it is “an emotional game” - like rugby isn’t - and refuse to consider making diving a red card offence
I thought the ref did well in Spain v Italy, he told Toni to get up and stop crying about five times.
My favourite piece of “simulation” of the tournament so far was in the same game when Di Natale sprained an eyelash, rolled off the pitch then realised where he was and rolled back on. The result - the Spaniards in possession had to put the ball out of play because of the ridiculous “gentlemen’s agreement” that has been removed from the game in the Premier League with excellent results.

By: Julian

Julian — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:05:26 +0000

Very instructive for me is how my 8 year old and 6 year old boys - who have really been ‘blooded’ on big tournament football with this Euro - have absorbed the theatrics and the play-acting they see on TV and have turned our backyard kick-arounds into something resembling an audition for Macbeth. Its quite sweet to see a 6 year old (who incidentally has Ronaldo-esque skills in other areas of his fledgling game) sprawling across the hallowed turf of our garden with a well-studied grimace across his face. But it doesn’t bode well for the future of the beautiful game when kids are picking up the ugly side of the sport from the TV. Definitely time to do something about it - and I like the ’sin bin’ idea of a five minute break for anyone whose injury stops the game. It will be a bit like the naughty stair for adults.