Australia’s entry to Asia has been a godsend in terms of its positive impact on Australian football. However, one of the problems is that we are facing gamesmanship from oppositions of different culture that we do not regularly see in Australia.
The recent match between Oman and Australia brought up a major diplomatic incidence. We have Australian team manager Gary Moretti accusing the Omani team of cheating due to time wasting by feigning injuries.
This wasn’t the first time Australia has managed to get into a diplomatic incidence due to perception of unsporting behaviour.
We have Graham Arnold saying “Welcome to Asia” after responding to question about the opposition wasting time during the Asia Cup after they played Oman that manage to upset AFC President Mohammed Bin Hamman, as it implied that the entire Asian region were divers.
There was also numerous times during the AFC Champions League where the crowd has ended up booing the opposition team due to time wasting such as the Central Coast defeat to Tianjin Teda where Mariner’s coach Lawrie McKinna accused the opposition side of diving as well as Sydney FC matches against Shanghai Shenhua.
However it is noticeable that the Asian region does not consider Australians to be a paragon of virtue either.
We had the Oman coach Claude Le Roy accused Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill of cheating by continually harassing the referee. The Young Matildas manage to start a fight against the Chinese team during the AFC Under-19 Women’s Championship.
We have a reputation in Asia for being arrogant especially in light of some of the comments from Vince Grella after the Asian Cup debacle where he accused the opposition for not showing Australia enough respect.
There’s also the perennial worldwide perception (not just from Asia) that Australia are over-physical and sometimes thuggish.
The Japanese media do sometimes present Australia team to play thuggish football, the Netherlands complained about our physical style of play during the warm up to the 2006 World Cup after one of the players were injured as well as the French team during a Friendly match at 2001. Even in England, one of the most physical leagues in the world, Australian players have a reputation to be tough and dirty tacklers no doubt help by the reputations of Kevin Muscat, Danny Tiatto and even Lucas Neill.
All of this shows that there is a huge cultural impact that affects people’s perception of what is sportsmanship. Australia tends to celebrate physical prowess and therefore we are very much lenient on physical challenges and dirty tackles.
It says a lot about our culture that when people think of unsporting incidence during our time in Asia, the first things that came to mind was the diving and time wasting and not the X-rated challenge by Sun Jihai that could have potentially ended Luke Wilkshire career during the World Cup qualifiers.
Although starting a brawl is no doubt considered unacceptable in Australia. However there are people who considered the Young Matildas were just protecting a “mate’ who was unfairly kicked on by the Chinese team that prompted the brawl.
After all starting a fight to protect your team mate although not considered acceptable here, it’s certainly considered a mitigating circumstance that makes the action more understandable.
Although there is a clampdown on referee abuse in Australia, there are just as many people who believe that referees are overprotected species.
I believe that in more conservative cultures where respecting authority and the elders are considered much stronger values, abuse of referees a far less tolerated then in countries like Australia. After all, see how much the Omani players accepted the referees’ decision to not award the penalty during that match.
In other countries, time wasting and diving may not be considered sporting but is more tolerated as it shows intelligence, cunning and street smartness whilst they take a dimmer view on x-rated challenges.
So the next time we cry foul of unsporting conduct. Don’t try to get into the moral high ground. Just realise that they are no bigger cheaters than us, they just cheat differently.
Marty
Guest
The Italians are the masters of this art form in soccer ( Futbol Internazionale). Hopefully this cheating scam-racket will be uncovered by the 2015 FBI investigation into FIFA. In the meantime I have this to say to the 'ponytailed tattooed Itie Yuppy football players & professional simulated divers' 'Addio Coppa del Mondo, anno 2006'
Fly on the Wall
Guest
you're kidding dasilva - Australians may not all be angles but we play hard - how about Ranatunga demanding a runner because he was too fat to handle top level cricket? And all the chuckers Sri Lanka has produced and not corrected their bowling actions? And all the subcontinentals who claim catches when they are clearly not. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfLKLgSn3JA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME5jLxEHNt0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Mk74srFVb4 Just a few to start with.
constantine
Guest
and i appreciate your comment, in no way do i want to detract someones interest in league or afl, if they enjoy those sports that is fine (why would it not be). i know that alot of afl followers (tens of thousands at that) used to play football when it was not what it is today. what i complain about is some of the bias and complete lack of knowledge displayed by certain sects of those sports supporters. statements regarding diving, 0-0 etc and how the sport is unaustralian because of it inflame me. diving and 0-0 are rare, very rare, however the stereotypes that they are common and therefore it is a bad sport hit a nerve thats all. i also think it sucks that for a sporting nation, the only sports were good at nobody cares about
westy
Guest
Constantine do not forget many NRL and AFL supporters also support Australian football. You are a little too harsh. Football is the international game . it should be celebrated as such. I however like the fact that Australian football may yet thrive in a diverse sporting panorama that is the Australian contact team sports.. There is something unique about it that makes us different. I celebrate that difference and it really is beyond any media owner. II have been supporting australian football for a long time . I have attended many internationals beginning with the Socceroos v England at the Sports ground when Peter Sharne was brought down by Butcher to give us apenalty and a one all draw.. m Many of the people I went with had their rugby league teams . But each friday night we all watched Big match on the ABc after I think the Two Ronnies and followed by Dave Allen. I supported Marconi and wests in league and two blues in rugby. Football is the internatinal code one other partly and league provincial and local. but that is OK. All these games have brought pleasure but only one is the World game. This does not detract from the fact that each affects the other in Australia and has some impact on our identity. That is who we are. There are many NRL and AFL supporters who have a very good knowledge of Australian football and the potential to develop an Australian Footballing culture . We are not all long ball enthusiasts. However I think the other codes have had an impact . If Australian football does develop footballers as you say they will always tend to play with a degree of physicality that has been the hallmark of our football heritage in the days when we did not have much else. Not to respect this heritage is to diminish the efforts of Marston/Wilson/Yancos etc.and their struggle for the world game in this country.
constantine
Guest
i honestly dont mind early elimination as long as it teaches us a strong lesson. we need a better coach (im just waiting for all the backlash for that one) and one that can get us to play attractive football (we basicly need this to keep the sport growing popular) we also need to see the benefits of our new national curriculum and the introduction of australian "FOOTBALLERS" not australian sportsmen. eitherway, i cna just imagine what will come up on the daily telegraph, courier mail and every other entity owned by news ltd (bar foxsports). the reason for this in my opinion is envy and jealousy, i would also be jealous if i supported a minority sport that in 150 years still cant get anybody else interested. if i was them i would also use any stupid excuse to try make my sport sound supirior (ie, diving, soft etc) but at the end of the day (and this is not meant to be offensive) 6 billion fans, 200+ confederations, largest tournaments on earth, multi million $ player contracts and international superstardom compared to being known in melbourne or sydney would also make me feel frustrated. again not meant to be offensive because if i dont care if afl and nrl exist, if you follow them thats good for you and you are perfectly entitled too, but you dont see me saying how bad they are do you
Pippinu
Roar Guru
Getting out this time will be a massive challenge - but it'll be great just to be part of it again. A couple of goals and a couple of points might end up being a very big achievement.
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
Pip if you read the age or the SMH you should be allright. But there are so many pieces around the WCup or Euro tourneys that really talk about the countries rather than their football teams. If you can't write about Germay without mentioning Octoberfest or WW2 please don't write at all.
constantine
Guest
pip: the point is relevant here because it shows the bias and lack of education (or tolerance) some people tend to give this sport. but the reason why my best pal rebecca wilson is involved in this conversation is because of what i mentioned before. maybe she should be addressing how to make her beloved rugby league gain some international credibility (15k for a world cup semifinal shows the lack of) instead of commenting on a sport she knows nothing about and clearly dislikes.
Pippinu
Roar Guru
Yes - but we're talking the WC here!! Re Rebecca Wilson - it was a nothing article that should have been ignored - but people ended up giving it far more air time that it would have got otherwise. In truth, she said nothing different to what Pim had said. Les Murray wrote that it wasn't so much what she said - but that she dared say it!! Ben Buckley wrote a letter in response for christ's sake!!
constantine
Guest
you almost forgot the name of her article. "soccer in a sad, sad state" basicly an article saying how bad the sport and the a-league is, and what was the cause???? because adelaide united, a cash strapped side running on a limited budget was able go against all odds and to knock out teams bankrolled by billionaires featuring sporting gods such as rivaldo and remarkably make it all the way to a continental grand final only to evenutally be outclassed by a team 30 times their size and wealth. now thats just disappointing
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
Do you remember Rebecca Wilson’s article about Adelaide in the ACL She bagged them out as thought that was proof the A league was a useless competition……. This was because they lost the FINAL of the ACL. 2nd in Asia and Qualified for the WCC, not good enough apparently. The world Cup brings out these types of columns in droves because after the AAP reports most papers have 1 1/2 football writers.
Pippinu
Roar Guru
Stay away from the newspapers? They gave great coverage of our last WC - the online blogs were huge.
constantine
Guest
andyroo: dont worry i already know that will happen (btw 442 is a fantastic website). even as a hardcore fan i dont expect australia to make it past the group stage, just looking at who else has qualified im terrified, BUT i am very happy we are making world cups, its a building block. eitherway when that happens i can just imagine the fallout about how were terrible and we shouldnt play this sport. yes, i also have strong feelings towards rebecca wilson but what can you do. the only reason i stay positive is because USA and japan weren't too different that long ago. mls was in freefall until they had that run in 2002, now its basicly going healthy and will continue to improve. japan, well their league almost went bankrupt and now its basicly as good as watching any european league (yes i love the j-league atmosphere and skill galore). things should get better i just hope the amount of idiots with no clue about the sport (yet decide to leave their opinion) will decline over the next 20 years
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
Since we are sharing the love Whatever you do Con stay away from newspapers (and probably talk back radio too) during the world cup and the two weeks either side of it. Just stick to online sites like 442 and TWG. That time period is when the real shock jocks Rebecca Wilson and co feel they better chip in with their 2c about this “thing” rating it’s socks off on TV. They have seen 20mins of highlights so feel like experts. That’s my tip for you from one football fan to another :)
Pippinu
Roar Guru
capt nemo the first to ever make a positive comment on the Roar? Maybe he is unAustralian!!
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
I don’t bother discussing nill alls, not enough scoring and such then because to me that means they don’t like the game and it’s not for them. If they talk about something that bothers me then I am going to listen to what they say. I think most fans raised on the EPL don’t like time wasting, feigning injury or abusing referees. The commentators always looked upon those things poorly and I think how Aussies like the game to be played is pretty similar to what the English like. Except thanks to SBS we like passing the football on the ground too :) They don’t have to worry about growing their game and making sure it maintains those characteristics because their game is well entrenched. Australia is different, our fans aren’t as keen to cop that. I think time is sort of getting people used to it, and so the bar isn't as high. When people started acknowedging that Neil stuffed up you could see the tide turning. I really thought Greg Baums article was ok but mainly because I agree with the conclusion. I don’t want Australian teams to act like Josh Kennedy did when he got hit. I don’t mind if they let gravity take it’s toll and I don’t expect them to pretend not to be hurt. I just don’t want them to stoop to what Kennedy did, that’s a grey line I guess but I think Josh stepped over it so I don’t mind him getting a rebuke. There’s another recent article from Mike Coleman who is 100% not a football writer and did a piece that offended a lot of football fans. Yeh he is a bit ignorant but again I agreed with his conclusion “Aussie fans should stop whinging and start supporting the A league”. If I like the message then I don’t care who the messenger is.
constantine
Guest
wow thats the first positive comment ive ever had on this site. cheers buddy, i am happy for all those reasons too i just tend to get defensive over football. love the socceroos the most, playing well or poorly they make me proud to be australian
captain nemo
Roar Guru
don't worry about the wannabees Constantine. Most football fans around the globe have not even heard the word Australia. Your happy living in your skin with football, me with rugby, we are as Aussie as anyone champ. I am happy that a couple of Wollongong boys in the Morris brothers are off to the UK and France to play test matches, i am happy that the Wallabies are off to Europe via Japan soon, I am happy that the Socceroos will be in south Africa next year (not happy about this summers cricket schedule) so if anyone says thats unAustralian then they can go get knicked. Constantine, you are as Aussie as vegemite or whatever the new name for it is :)
constantine
Guest
lol alright maybe you missed my point, i dont know what the all blacks do because i dont watch alot of union and when i do i dont really know the rules. eitherway, just because the all blacks do that each game does not equate to every non union person saying what a terrible sport it is, how its cheating and unaustralian. see thats what football has to put up with due to a uncommon incident that you barely ever see
captain nemo
Roar Guru
only the last 100 years constantine