A Gooners view on why football deterrents work when used and a reason why they are fooishly not used nearly enough
Part One, about cheating players. by Jon Fox
My fellow Gooners, I have been following top level football and especially our club, way back since 1958 and in that long time have seen a moral sea change in football, losing respect for honesty and encouraging win-at-all-costs attitudes and general CHEATING.
Cheating by almost everyone involved within the game, from players, coaches and managers, owners, football bodies such as FIFA and UEFA.
I will exclude, for now, refs and VAR officials, as my views on both are well known on here and I intend to write separate articles on both, shortly.
Only fellow older fans such as Ken 1945, Grandad, Jax and a number of other fans will be able to recall what football was like when I began attending back in 1958. Indeed, a very few can go even back further than I, and I look forward to reading their comments.
I would argue that simply being biased toward one’s own team is cheating our own individual honesty, but that is human nature, incurable and except in our double standards expectations of others, does little harm to football itself. At least not directly – though it could sensibly be argued it has a longer-term malign influence.
I start with what may be thought of little consequence by some, but which is so common that is it hardly noticed, if in small amounts. Yes, stealing yards, often very many yards at throw ins. Players know pretty much exactly where the ball goes out of play but very few ever throw in from that point but routinely steal as many yards as they think they will get away with, on throw ins.
Players nearly always also know if they or the opponent has put the ball out of play. Not always, I accept, but in the main, they know. But, it is common for both sides to appeal for throw ins and often the cheating side’s player holds on to the ball to prevent the honest side’s player from taking that throw quickly and aiding their own team.
Then we have corners and free kicks, especially free kicks in a possible scoring position. Again, players generally know whether they or the opponent has touched the ball behind the goal line for a goal kick or a corner. And mostly, not always, but mostly, players know if they have fouled or if they have been fouled. But the urge to cheat is all powerful, fuelled by many factors, the pressure to win at all costs, the fact that being honest is looked upon as being naive and somewhat foolish rather than laudable, by so many, including teammates, fans and managers.
Huge money and win bonuses are another factor in win-at-all-cost attitudes which lead to cheating. I would also add modern society’s whole nature, which is that so often that you are considered a naive fool, not a person with morals and principles, if you don’t routinely cheat.
Pundits talk of a professional foul. They mean ‘he cheated’, but they don’t dare put it that way. Hearing themselves out loud supporting cheating, in this age of virtue signalling, is a step too far even for well-known pundits. So, they downgrade cheating to being “a professional foul”. They fool only themselves.
That allows them to condone cheating but not to SAY that word. I may be in a minority on this but I have long maintained that deliberately pressurising refs and sometimes asst refs, both on touch line and by managers – as even our own MA among countless others, due to the fourth official in the technical area or close by it – has been done by players, though a few half-hearted attempts to prevent this are now, finally, being instigated.
I would make a red card mandatory for all backchat to refs, with no exceptions. Though I would allow the captain (and ONLY him) to approach and ask respectfully at all times, why the ref gave that decision. A one match ban would follow for backchatting the ref.
A limit, to be discussed further, on the number of times the captain could approach would need to be decided upon.
Next and worse of all by far, is diving. I have said for ages going back very many years that the football authorities are as weak as water on diving. My solution, which would assuredly cure the problem for ever within a few weeks is this: For diving, where the ref is certain it’s a dive and VAR, if necessary, confirms it, would be a mandatory straight red card followed by a mandatory six match Prem ban.
If it is missed by both ref and VAR, as we all know many things are – in particular the scandalous failure to send off Onana at Man Utd the other night against Wolves – then after the game a chosen panel of five, comprising of ex-players and refs, would sit weekly to decide if that player dived or did not.
Also a month’s full salary complete stoppage which would go in its entirely to a charity of the opposition’s choice, with a personal written letter of apology and a public admission of cheating on such as Sky or TNT or both, and a listing and shaming on a weekly published list of shame, to be displayed extremely prominently, including on the match screen, at least twice, by all Prem league clubs, and mentioned on TV. It would be helpful if all national newspaper would publish this list on their back pages too and to do it weekly. Public humiliation will ensure diving is not repeated.
For repeated offences by the same player, I would double the match ban and keep all other punishments as they are. It would never happen a third time, I can guarantee that. YES, IT IS DRACONIAN BUT IT WOULD END DIVING FOR GOOD.
Either you intend to cure it, or you keep silly slap on the wrist mere yellow cards and continue effectively condoning shameful, disgraceful CHEATING. Your choice, fellow Gooners!
My friends, I value ethics in our most popular global sport, and would do whatever it takes to return the game to the comparative honesty it had when I was young. Many former lifelong football older age former fans I know personally, have long given up following it because of the disgusting cheating, and obscenity of ridiculous salaries awarded. I will shortly discuss the obscenity of salaries, but this is piece is on cheating.
I definitely do not expect many to agree with my admittedly draconian solutions given here. But I am hopeful that this piece, the first of two specifically on cheating, will attract some original thoughts and sensible comments. Part Two will follow soon.
COYG
Jon Fox
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