Manchester City won one of the most exciting seasons in years, yet there have been sour moments this year too. Manchester United’s Ashley Young was the centre of a diving storm while Chelsea captain John Terry is never far from controversy.
New HITC Writer Paul Moore give his views on the problems blighting the beautiful game.
I’ve gone to and watched football on television since I was a small boy. It’s a game I both love and adore but it has so many problems now it’s untrue.
Not only outside of the game but inside it as well; now I am no judge but I have an opinion. You may share it or think differently but either way the game isn’t in great shape and that really is sad.
I’ll start with referees; the simple fact is they need a lot more help. Considering the amount of money in the game this shouldn’t be a problem and yet it is.
Video technology is the way forward. You see for some reason the governing body don’t think we need it; and yet ask most football fans and they will agree we do. It’s the richest sport in the world and yet it’s so far behind the likes of cricket and rugby and even tennis for that matter.
Just like the other sports it wouldn’t take long and the game wouldn’t change; it takes seconds and would stop so many arguments. So why can’t we have video technology?
I’ve yet to hear one decent argument as to why we shouldn’t have it! It’s simple; it’s the way forward and the sooner the better I say.
A decision by a referee can have a long term affect on a team; it could mean the difference between no points, one point or three points.
You can look back as a fan and point to a certain moment in a game at anytime in the season and say the referee was wrong. You can argue for hours over it when with modern technology it can be proved.
I’ve also noticed there are a lot more decisions going for the teams in the top six than the rest of the Premier League especially if they are at home.
The men or the women in charge just need to stand up and be counted; at the end of the day it doesn’t matter or at least it shouldn’t matter if it’s the home or away team; it’s about fair play but referees are influenced by the home crowd.
Diving
The thing that makes my blood boil is diving. I don’t pay to see some clown lose the ball fairly only for them to throw themselves down as if they’ve been shot. Now some refs are good enough to see this while others fall for it time and again.
Just like I mentioned earlier this can have an effect at the end of the season. What’s even worse is when a player has dived and got away with it his manager sticks up for him.
Now if it’s a reckless foul or a very bad challenge we all know it’s either yellow or red, it’s also known as ‘ungentlemenly conduct,’ surely diving in whatever shape or form should be treated the same.
Just as a tackle badly timed gets a card so should a dive; but it’s always the tackle and rarely the diver.
Racism
The matter of racism has come up over the last few months which I find appalling I really do. The players involved and everyone knows who I’m talking about are earning in a week what most take three to four years to earn; there are posters of them on kids’ bedroom walls.
It is simple enough; should they be found guilty they should be kicked out of the game. The message at the moment is unclear as far as I can see.
One player is going to court in July over racist remarks allegedly said; now don’t get me wrong but in any other walk of life he’d be suspended or even sacked though the latter shouldn’t happen until the matter goes to court.
I feel the Crown Prosecution Service wouldn’t be taking such a high profile case to court if they didn’t think they could win. The maximum fine he’ll get should he be found guilty is a mere two and a half thousand pounds.
The question is if he is found guilty will football take him back? The answer is yes and to me that’s wrong.
Off-field behaviour
That neatly leads me into my next point. Should players that have served time for sexual offences be allowed to play professionally again? In a word; no.
All pro’s know just how lucky they are to be playing at whatever level; being paid to play means you’re good and people will like you for what you can do.
With that come responsibilities and players know this. The better the player the more money he’ll earn and the more fans he’ll get. You’re news on the back page but if you are found guilty in a court of law you should lose the right to play football.
One player that has been lucky is Marlon King; I’m just glad my club never signed him but I don’t understand the clubs that have since his conviction.
He’s had his chance and therefore shouldn’t be given another. The away fans of course give him stick for it but he’s served his time in jail; and is then free to become a role model again? What kind of example is that teaching the next generation of footballers? ‘I’m a footballer so I can get away with it!’ is the message and it’s wrong; plainly and simply.
Only a couple of weeks ago Ched Evans of Sheffield United was sentenced to five years for the rape of a nineteen year old girl. For reasons known only to his girlfriend she is standing by him; maybe he is not guilty and she believes him but at the end of the day he was found guilty of the offense.
The victim could hardly walk when Evans had sex with her, he says she consented to it, but she was so drunk she didn’t know what she was doing.
Yes it was a silly thing to do on the girl’s behalf but that doesn’t give anyone including a footballer the right to take advantage of her. Another footballer but not a teammate had already had sex with her while two others filmed it.
Ched Evans thought he was above the law; he was earning twenty thousand pounds a week; very good for a League One player and thought he’d walk away scot free! He has launched an appeal to clear his name; but the damage is done and I mean to the poor victim.
What’s so incredible is some Sheffield United fans were going to give him a minutes applause at their last home game; hello, he is a convicted rapist!
There are even Facebook groups that are calling for his release and calling the victim a ‘whore’ a ‘drunken slag’; now if the victim was a girlfriend or a sister of one of the fans would they feel the same? We all know the answer to that I think.
Now earlier I mentioned Ched Evans girlfriend sticking by him and I think I know why; he’ll get out after being released early and get a football club that will pay him silly money.
Then she’ll be back to the life she’s used to; while the victim is treated like dirt; we all know how wrong it is but we can’t do anything about it.
I have hardly touched the surface on these matters but football has to clean up its act as there is something wrong with football and it needs fixing and soon I hope.
A positive note
Now after saying all that there is a nice side to football; On March 17th 2012 Fabrice Muamba collapsed as basically his heart stopped; by a miracle forty four days later he walked on to the pitch.
It was great that the football world pulled together as one and he pulled through. If he plays again is irrelevant really; he’s alive and that’s the main thing!
What are your thoughts on the issues raised?
image: © Brett Jordan
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