The Beautiful Game?
So, the World Cup is over. A new country victorious, the first competition in Africa, billions of fans watching worldwide… so why do I feel disappointed?
Well, for me, the conduct of the players – especially in the final – has tarnished the self-proclaimed “Biggest Show on Earth”. In a game that was the showcase for the largest sport in the world, watched by an estimated worldwide audience of over 700 million, the players of the losing side disgraced themselves. More than that, they disgraced the Beautiful Game.
The Netherlands went into the final knowing that despite having played some sumptuous football in the tournament – beating Brazil no less – they were still not as technically gifted as the Spanish. Given that they couldn’t beat them at the proper game, they therefore resorted to Plan B: kick them off the park.
It was a calculated gamble by the Netherlands coach that almost – thank God only almost – paid off. He knew that no referee would send off a player within the first 20 minutes of a World Cup Final, and the Dutch players set out to intimidate their opponents in disgusting fashion. Trips, assaults, kung fu kicks, you name it. They did everything. Should Howard Webb have sent more off than the one Netherlands hooligan he did? Probably. Should the Dutch have showed more morals? Without doubt.
The spoilt behaviour they showed when the Spaniards scored their goal, dissent towards the officials not only immediately afterwards but also at the final whistle, Arjen Robben sprinting after referee Webb to verbally abuse him, and then a Dutch yellow card for throwing the ball down to the ground like a petulant child, were the most disappointing aspects of the entire competition. It was immature and indefensible, especially with millions of impressionable children watching across the globe.
After Didier Drogba’s outburst last year on camera in the Champions League, football’s reputation has taken another, more devastatingly public nosedive. A further generation of youngsters will now grow up after this final thinking that attacking the referee is an acceptable part of the game. I still wait to hear whether any Dutch players will face disciplinary action for their conduct…
If there is a God, that night he was wearing a sombrero – viva Espana!!!!
