F.I.F.A’S DOUBLE
STANDARDS!
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| Juan Zuniga's foul could determine Brazil's fate |
Suarez’s heinous act deserved stern action not only because of its severity but also because it was a repeat offense. This was the third time in his career that Suarez had bitten an opponent. It’s obvious also from this rap sheet that the man needs plenty of psycho-therapy and counseling plus emotional support to overcome whatever psychosis he’s suffering from. FIFA subsequently banned him for 4 months, a ban that extended to all football activities including appearing within certain proximity of any stadia.
| Suarez takes a little taste of Chielini |
What they failed to include was an explicit requirement for him to seek psyche rehab within the said duration of the ban which would have tackled his deep rooted problem in its entirety and thus ensured he doesn’t repeat the same.
| Part of the cannibal's rehab "Dr Hannibal Lector" style |
This had been
preceded by FIFA’s ban on Cameroonian midfielder Andre Song who was guilty of
violent conduct when he blatantly elbowed Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic in
an off the ball incident similar to Suarez’s.
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| Jiu-jitsu made in Cameroon |
FIFA’s action
on these two cases is commendable but there seems to be a lot of
inconsistencies as far as the world body’s zero tolerance on violent acts.
Several
members of the French national team, the Le Bleu are complicit of extreme acts
of aggression which warranted post match review and even punitive measures considered.
Mamadou
Sisokho was caught by the glare of cameras elbowing an Ecuadorian player during
their last group game.
| Mamadou Sakho taking care of business |
This seemed
to set the tone for how the French team would deal with stubborn opposition.
France’s striker Olivier Giroud was similarly caught blatantly elbowing Nigeria’s
John Obi Mikel right infront of the arbiter, who didn't seem the least interested.
The ref seemed to have declared open season as the men in blue kept pummeling the Africans culminating in midfielder Blaise Matuidi’s crunching tackle that saw Ogenyi Onazi stretchered off with a fractured ankle joint in the second half. Having been his second such tackle in this game, he only received a yellow card which was outrageous considering he had made a similarly reckless tackle against the same player in the first half and got away scot free! That amount of aggression can only be addressed fairly with the awarding of a straight red card! Referees are human and as human beings they can be forgiven for making errors in judgement or missing out on particular incidents especially ones that happen out of range or too fast for the human eye. However this is an era where sophisticated technology can be applied to help remedy some these acts that threaten to disrepute the beautiful game.
This is where FIFA as the organizers should come in and say enough is enough and make punitive measures to safeguard the health and well being of players as well as the image of the game.
| Giroud's response to tight marking |
The ref seemed to have declared open season as the men in blue kept pummeling the Africans culminating in midfielder Blaise Matuidi’s crunching tackle that saw Ogenyi Onazi stretchered off with a fractured ankle joint in the second half. Having been his second such tackle in this game, he only received a yellow card which was outrageous considering he had made a similarly reckless tackle against the same player in the first half and got away scot free! That amount of aggression can only be addressed fairly with the awarding of a straight red card! Referees are human and as human beings they can be forgiven for making errors in judgement or missing out on particular incidents especially ones that happen out of range or too fast for the human eye. However this is an era where sophisticated technology can be applied to help remedy some these acts that threaten to disrepute the beautiful game.
This is where FIFA as the organizers should come in and say enough is enough and make punitive measures to safeguard the health and well being of players as well as the image of the game.
| Matuidi's bone crusher |
This
particular game highlighted the inconsistencies of the referees and the
disparity in arbitrating standards between refs from different regions as each seems to be reading from a different rule book.
In Brazil’s
quarter final match against Colombia, the Spanish referee completely lost
control of the game creating a free for all as the game descended into a
tackling fest!
The level of violence exhibited and the leniency of the ref created an air of impunity which led to Colombian defenderJuan Zuniga’s needless and malicious knock on talisman Neymar when he leapt with one knee extended landing a blow squarely on the small of Neymar's back sending him reeling flat on to the turf with a now confirmed fracture of the vertebra. To empasis the finality of this act, it simply ended Neymar's participation in his nation’s World cup campaign. Thus Russia 2018 is the next time this wizard of the game will exhibit his skills on the World cup stage.
The level of violence exhibited and the leniency of the ref created an air of impunity which led to Colombian defenderJuan Zuniga’s needless and malicious knock on talisman Neymar when he leapt with one knee extended landing a blow squarely on the small of Neymar's back sending him reeling flat on to the turf with a now confirmed fracture of the vertebra. To empasis the finality of this act, it simply ended Neymar's participation in his nation’s World cup campaign. Thus Russia 2018 is the next time this wizard of the game will exhibit his skills on the World cup stage.
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| Obrigado! Bom dia, see you in Russia 2018 |
FIFA has been
too slow to curb reckless tackles and violent play and in Suarez’s case, it
seems pressure from the European press especially the powerful and influential
English media played a big part in the prompt and swift response.
I shudder to imagine if Uruguay had played say Costa Rica or Cote D’ Ivore and Suarez committed the same cannibalism whether we’d have witnessed the prompt censure and reprimand from the world body!
I shudder to imagine if Uruguay had played say Costa Rica or Cote D’ Ivore and Suarez committed the same cannibalism whether we’d have witnessed the prompt censure and reprimand from the world body!
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