Of Cheats And Crooks

Guti hacked to the ground - a familiar sight on Sunday at the Bernabeu, but it was Real that finished with 10. As for Barca...






Never a dull moment in the soccer world and this weekend proved to be no exception. All eyes were on Spain to see how Barca would respond to Etoo's absence in Bilbao and what fireworks would be seen in the Madrid derby at the Bernabeu, with a Premiership matinee mixed in with the Iberian showdowns. Sadly, cheating players and incompetent refs stole the show. And not for the first time.

Watching the Athletic-Barca game, I should've seen it all coming. Athletic got off to a stunning start when the fantastic Yeste laced a half-volley into the corner of Barca's net. All of a sudden, one could really imagine that maybe, just maybe, Barca would be unable to overcome Etoo's absence: Ronaldinho has been a shadow of his former self for the past five months, Xavi has yet to return to his pre-injury form, and the squad as a whole has shown signs of vulnerability. Cue the ref. As has happened all too often ever since Laporta became president of Barca and Zapatero took charge of Spain, a highly dubious (and by 'highly dubious' I mean 'so appallingly bad that one can't help but think that something is amiss') decision went Barca's way. Gudjohnsen broke free down the right and, although there were still two Athletic defenders in the middle of the pitch to block his path to goal, Athletic's Casas took him down and was given a straight red. It was completely inexplicable. As if the Basques wouldn't have had enough problems holding a 1-0 lead with 11 men on the pitch, their new task was nearly impossible. Well, actually, it was impossible. Barca ran riot and left San Mames 3-1 winners on the night.

On Sunday, Tottenham-Portsmouth kept with the theme of the weekend. Late in the first half, Spurs' Didier Zokora, a much-praised player on this here site, collapsed to the ground as he contested a ball with Portsmouth's Pedro Mendes in the box. The ref pointed to the spot, although all replays clearly showed that there was no contact whatsoever between the two. It put Spurs' second goal on the scoreboard and, despite the visitors' best efforts, effectively put the game out of reach. To his credit, the ref admitted at halftime to the victimized team's coach, Harry Redknapp, that he had made a big mistake. Still, what's done is done and Redknapp's boys headed back down to the south coast empty-handed, undeservingly so.

By the time the cameras focused on the Bernabeu late Sunday, I should have known that we would complete the trifecta. After Atletico dominated a scintillating first-half and took a 1-0 lead on a Mista goal, Real responded with a Raul goal (typical) just before intermission. It was an undeserved equalizer, but it showed just what Guti can do when given time and space to dissect a defense - it was his ball that lofted over Atletico's backline and came down straight at the feet of the onrushing Raul. Of course, Atletico knew all too well that Guti was Real's danger man and had set about from the start kicking the crap out of the Madrid man; literally, every time he got the ball, an Atletico player went for his ankles. The ref, using some unknown (read: help Barca, not Real) logic, only booked two Atletico boys, while giving Real's Mejia a yellow that looked far too harsh. It all got worse in the second half. Just as Real had started to dominate the game, cue the ref. Fernando Torres and Sergio Ramos were both after a loose ball when the former collapsed clutching his face (it was reminiscent of Henry's dive against Puyol and Spain the World Cup). Ramos hadn't thrown an elbow or done anything half as bad as some of Atleti's challenges on Guti, but the ref handed him a second yellow and an early trip to the showers. The game seemed to die after that, as the visitors were unable to grab a winner and Real were content to escape with a draw (as an aside, when in hell will Capello figure out that the Emerson-Diarra pairing just ain't working?). Once again, a promising afternoon of footie had been spoiled by diving players and incompetent (if not corrupt) refs.

All of the fuss after the matches was nothing more than the usual, standard-issue responses. The hard-done-by coaches and players railed against the crappy refs and cheating players, while the opposing coaches, per usual, saw nothing wrong with the ref's decisions and defended the player's actions. It will be a great day when a coach comes out and says, "You know, he might be my player, but his actions embarassed me today and just to show that I will not tolerate cheating on my team, I'll be suspending him for next week's match." Sadly, a blizzard will blow through Hell before that happens. Everyone is at fault here: the players for diving, the refs for falling for their hystrionics, and the coaches for not calling the players out and refusing to tolerate that sort of cheating. It will take a lot of effort across the board to stamp out that sort of behaviour, but it needs to happen for the good of the game. And fast. In the meantime, soccer fans are stuck watching idiot refs and unsporting players ruin the beautiful game. It happened this weekend, for neither the first nor the last time, and unless something drastic happens soon, it'll happen many, many times again. Sad but true.