Lay off Suarez will you!

theone said:
As football fans we have seen this type of thing quite a few times a year in the game so it's a surprise to me personally that people are now making such a big deal about it. What he did and the punishment that he received are all part of the game. The player played according to the rules of the game knowing the possible consequence of his actions.
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I fear you may be exaggerating but never mind. Clearly soccer fans have become accepting of cheats so no further need to discuss it from my side.
 
theone said:
I'm not denying that Suarez is a cheat but it would be hypocritical to vilify him for that particular action when cheating is a part of the game of football and up to that point(the handball) people weren't complaining about Saurez's actions or any of the other cheating constantly happening during the tournament.
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Oh I condemn all the other cheating like diving etc just as strongly, so don't worry.
 
theone said:
I'm not denying that Suarez is a cheat but it would be hypocritical to vilify him for that particular action when cheating is a part of the game of football and up to that point(the handball) people weren't complaining about Saurez's actions or any of the other cheating constantly happening during the tournament.
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Oh fsuk! You are forcing one final comment out of me! Are you totally unable to see that there are varying degrees here!?!?!? Someone diving on the half way line when someone gently touches their ankle (although absolutely pathetic in itself and a reason soccer is made fun of) is totally different to someone using their hands to clear a ball from the goal line.

If we had to start a new thread for all those "lesser" cheating offences we'd run out of space on the internet! :D

But then again, you are right, soccer fans seem to like this cheating aspect of their game so who are we to question the sanity of it.
 
LancelotSA said:
Point me in the direction of fans of another sport who defend cheating by a participant so fervently....
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Habana scoring the Bulls' try in injury time to beat the Sharks in the Super14 final.
 
moggie said:
Habana scoring the Bulls' try in injury time to beat the Sharks in the Super14 final.
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We are at risk of heading off topic here but which party was defending which cheat?

If I were to assume what you are referring to, then that equates more to an assistant ref missing an offside goal in soccer than a blatant cheat.
 
UnUnOctium said:
My guess is that most of the people who flame Suarez are not regular football spectators but rather just 'temporary' fans while the world cup is here :)

P.S. @post above: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoGd0GUZYNg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kme2xaGi49A
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If by 'fan' you mean hanging out in the soccer section and worshiping Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea every day then yes I'm not a fan. I have a life.

That doesn't mean that I don't have a keen interest in the sport. I actually like watching the Bundesliga - good football and no annoying local fanboys who ally themselves with a foreign club and get all agro with each other.
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
That doesn't mean that I don't have a keen interest in the sport. I actually like watching the Bundesliga - good football and no annoying local fanboys who ally themselves with a foreign club and get all agro with each other.
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You'll be pleased to know that SuperSport will be showing all the Bundesliga games this season!!!
 
moggie said:
You'll be pleased to know that SuperSport will be showing all the Bundesliga games this season!!!
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Hehe yeah it's about time. I was beginning to think that they were a sponsor of the EPL :D
 
LancelotSA said:
The way people go on about corrupt politicians, you'd think it never happened before.
The way people go on about crime, you'd think it never happened before.
The way people go on about.... you get the idea?
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People go on about those things because they affect their lives in a very very personal way. Even attempting to put corrupt politicians and crime in the same basket as a player who used a loophole on football law to get his team into the semi's of the World Cup is ludicrous.

LancelotSA said:
And a lot of people have the gall to say he is not a cheat. Even he has stated that he has no regrets about what he did! And that is the part you appear to be missing. His actions were bad enough, but his, and the coach and fellow players, response to what he did just rubs salt in the wounds. Sure you can secretly delight at the fact that you cheated your way into the semis but at least lie (you are already dishonest so it makes no difference) at press conferences and say that you are a little regretful about what you did and it was instinctive etc.
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I am not missing that part at all. The part you seem to be missing is that no one is saying he wasn't a cheat - just that they understand his actions. Which are understandable - because he wanted to win. If something like that happened to our cricket team and we actually managed to win an international tournament because of it... hmmm...

@the rest of you - so he he abused the system - nothing new. It happens in every league in the world at least once a season. Saying something like "he should never play again" or "we should shoot him" is childish.
 
Jamal said:
May there never, never, and never again be such an injustice in soccer as when Suarez helped his team cheat their way through to the semifinals.
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???

You mean like Maradona's Hand of God?
 
Jamal said:
I also feel that the argument that Suarez didn't cheat because he was sanctioned within the rules of the sport is akin to saying that a convicted criminal didn't break the law because he was sentenced in accordance with the law of the land.

Proceeds of crime usually are returned to their rightful owners but in Uruguay's case their ill-gotten victory remains in place.
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It's a game. Repeat after me - it's a game. Yes, it's a professional game with lots at stake, but still... it's a game. Comparing it to crime is frankly astonishing. You must be living in Lala Land, where the worst thing that's happened to you is a spank on the botty for saying "bugger".
 
Jamal said:
It is a multi-billion rand industry and a profession for many people.
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I did say it was professional, if I'm not mistaken. How did Suarez impact on that industry? Frankly, quite positively... more people will watch the Uruguay - Netherlands match just to see Uruguay lose which means more money for FIFA, not to mention the free publicity.

Jamal said:
If a player fixes a match he can be criminally prosecuted and spend time in jail.
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I'm sorry... are you in possession of information that the rest of us are not? Did Suarez influence the outside of the football stadium or in it? The above sentence makes about as much as sense as one legged hippo tap-dancing.
 
smokey said:
I'm sorry... are you in possession of information that the rest of us are not? Did Suarez influence the outside of the football stadium or in it? The above sentence makes about as much as sense as one legged hippo tap-dancing.
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Do you not understand what an analogy is? He's not saying it's the same, he's comparing the two.

Or do you think what Suarez did was the right thing to do?
 
Jamal said:
There are implications for the Ghanaian football industry.
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How exactly will his action impact on the Ghanaian footballing landscape? Will kids suddenly stop playing because of the (relative) heart-break of going out like that? Will people stop watching football en masse because their team was kicked out of the World Cup? You'll really have to elaborate on the "implications" on the footballing industry in Ghana before I can make any serious comment...

Jamal said:
Several members of the Proteas faced criminal prosection after the match-fixing scandal back when.
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Really now... that's interesting. I must have missed that memo. I really fail to see why you are even mentioning the Protea's in this discussion because what he did was not criminal (as I tried to explain before). Nowhere did I say that there was no criminal aspect to sport. You must have the two mixed up, so why don't we just let this rest eh...

Randhir said:
Do you not understand what an analogy is? He's not saying it's the same, he's comparing the two.

Or do you think what Suarez did was the right thing to do?
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Which analogy? The analogy to crime is ridiculous and the analogy to matchfixing is false. Matchfixing and cheating are two separate things in sport and are both punishable - in different ways of course. Thing is... Suarez cheated - he did not take a bribe. Had he taken a bribe, the conversation would be very different and the sport/crime analogy would actually be correct.

As for my thought on this matter - as I have said before... he did what he had to to give his team a slightly higher chance of success. It's not morally right, but professionally? Hell yeah. I seem to recall a similar discussion in the footy section.

Some players were praised for having the guts to get a yellow card to stop a near certain goal opportunity. So let's review... they intentionally foul a player (Messi for instance) who if he passed them would be near certain to score. Right. They get the required punishment. Right. Now what's the difference between these defensive players and what Suarez did? It his worse just because it was so blatant? Was it worse because it is on the biggest stage? what makes his offense so ghastly in comparison to what happens in knockout tournaments every year. Hell - it happens in the league when a team NEED a win.
 
Back when I played football quite regularly and at a fairly high level (nowhere near international mind you) this situation was discussed and everybody agreed that we'd be prepared to face a red card for the sake of the team. This is nothing new in sport and is not isolated to football. You're more likely to be faced with this spur of the moment dilemma in football than in any other sport though.

But let's not forget how often professional fouls are dished out on the rugby pitch in the dying moments of a game. If a try is needed in the final seconds, you'll do whatever it takes to avoid the opposition getting through. If that means having to give away a penalty to run down the clock a little, then so be it. If that means slowing the ball down at the ruck intentionally (as much a professional foul as a handball in the box in soccer) then so be it. If it means illegally tackling a player and when he's diving for the try line and hoping the ref misses it, then so be it.

And cricketers not walking when they know they have edged a ball are for all intents and purposes acting just as imorally as Suarez did. However Suarez' situation was more than likely trained into him from a junior level, where it was taught to me too. If I were playing for Bafana and the situation presented itself, I'd probably have done what Suarez did. Yes, mock my lack of morals all you like, I know that off the pitch I have more moral fibre than the majority. On the pitch is a different story though - I play to win within the rules or I bend the rules to my advantage...
 
He cheated. The rules need to be adjusted from this ever happening again.
End of story.
 
EtienneK said:
He cheated. The rules need to be adjusted from this ever happening again.
End of story.
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You say that as if it is something that never happens in football, which leads me to think that you really don't watch it all that much. In which case... your comments hold about as much water as dehydrated chicken. If you are a regular viewer of the beautiful game (as it is called) then you would have noticed these types of circumstances happening many a time. Maybe not as blatant as what Suarez did... but they do happen.
 
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