Many football fans wonder why supporters of the NRL and AFL continue to love their own codes, but continue to bring hate on the world game.
We recognise that converting these people and getting them to attend a round-ball contest is one of the most vital parts of growing the game in Australia.
What better way to have a crack at converting these people than through watching the World Cup. It is a time when even Channel Seven is happy to recognise and report that football exists.
Everyone is watching.
Most of people I’m friends with are die-hard footy lovers. But the past few weeks, all of their attention has been focused on the world’s biggest sporting event. We also have one or two self proclaimed ‘soccer experts’ trying to tell me who’s playing well and who’s going to win and why, which is a good thing albeit frustrating.
We will be watching a match and discussing it all in a positive manner, until of course some bloke falls over cringing in pain holding a part of his body that wasn’t even close to the player that fouled him. This is then followed by the same group of people venting their disgust and highlighting that this is exactly why this is a terrible sport.
But can we really blame them?
On Tuesday morning France took on Nigeria which proved to be a good contest. Ogenyi Onazi, a Nigerian midfielder collided with French player Paul Pogba, claimed to be seriously hurt. The medical team acted appropriately by stretchering Onazi off, as you would do if one of your players claimed they were in agony. Not long after being stretchered off, Onazi returned to his feet, and not long after again, he returned to the field and played like he had never been touched.
To top things off, Onazi was involved in another incident, this time having his shin crunched by Blaise Matuidi and carried off once again. But this time he was subbed off, it was probably because he actually hurt himself, but I suggest the medical staff were just sick of carrying him around and just kept him off.
Chances are, if you seriously hurt enough to be stretchered off, you’re probably not in any state to return back to playing anytime soon, especially not in the few minutes straight after being carried off.
FIFA have come out so many times and said they don’t condone this type of behaviour as well as diving. They have said it is a blight on the game. So why is there not being any action taken?
They’ve said that refs are going to knuckle down on simulation and give cards against it, but this has not happened in this World Cup.
It is either a penalty, or it is simulation. But in order to stop the players that bruise easy and recover even easier, FIFA needs to step in and put in a rule stating that if you call a stretcher and are carried off, you are unable to return to play and must be subbed.
They must also put in a time-limit a player can be down for, let’s say a minute, after this minute, a stretcher is automatically called, resulting in the player going off and being automatically subbed, regardless injured or not.
For me, diving isn’t that much of a problem. If it doesn’t affect the result of a match that a player might over-exaggerate a challenge just to get the ref’s attention, I’m not going to kick up that much of a fuss.
The problem for me is the players who take this dive, but continue faking it by rolling around on the ground, cringing their face in an attempt to fool everyone on the pitch, which is not only disrespectful to the opposition but to everyone else on the pitch.
I can’t blame my friends for losing their cool about diving in football. But I just hope the positives can outweigh the negatives at what has been an amazing World Cup so far.
I hope the tournament can turn some once-in-every-four-years football fans into general part-time football fans, before turning them into full-time football fans.
anfalicious
Guest
The ref in the Brasil v Chile game seemed to be willing to just ignore it for the most part. By the second half, most of the players had just stopped trying. The result was seeing Neymar playing the ball on the ground several times, it was brilliant. Shaqiri has missed at least three good chances because he's been trying to milk a foul rather than getting on with it, I would have been pretty annoyed if I were a Swiss fan.
anfalicious
Guest
It kills the game in the US, and that *is* a significant market, given that it's economy is bigger than pretty much the rest of the nations in the world cup combined. Money talks and all that.
anfalicious
Guest
In many parts of the world "it's not cheating if you don't get caught" is the cultural norm.
anfalicious
Guest
Having played both Union and Soccer, a kick in the ankles with studs hurts more than most tackles in Rugby.
Mitch
Guest
"Maybe the AFL should copy the way the world’s most popular game operates? But, I honestly don’t care what they do." They already do!!! - in virtually every way!!!
jeznez
Roar Guru
We have a pretty handy guy in Israel Folau filling Matty's old boots. He goes alright and is great to watch.
RipEnke
Guest
Thanks mate, I call it the Jonny Wilkinson factor. What the wallabies are really missing is a Matty Burke IMO, he knew when to make those penetrating runs from deep, a underated player for me. I have a soft spot for union, my great grandfather played for Leeds.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Hi FC, I think 'repulsive' is probably too strong. In my case, as someone who equally likes and watches different codes, these aspects I mentioned just 'annoy' me as I said (maybe annoy is even too strong but I cant think of another word!). I will still watch those sports although, in a perfect world, yes I would love my rugby to have no scrum resets, football to be divers-free and so on. @prof below and Craig J, completely agree with you guys. Re your point about football craig, I think it turns ppl off football and not afl just because they are afl fans first and not really football fans, i.e. for them the downsides of football (and there are a few) do not counter balance the positive ones. Same for me re afl, the downsides of the sport (too confusing for my liking) outweighs the positive aspects of the game (athleticism etc) so I don't watch it.
jeznez
Roar Guru
Nah - pop over to the Rugby tab and check what we die hards were saying after the Wallabies/France second test - rugby fans are well aware that our game can be played in a dire fashion and get pretty antsy towards our teams when they do. Hopefully we have more games like the Waratahs are playing this year and the first and third tests because that style of play is great to watch.
tick bites
Guest
Maybe these folk who love to whinge about the diving etc should try watching the W-League. Every complaint I've seen (play acting, cheating, lack of winning for AUS, lack of FTA coverage) is a non-issue in the W-League. If these are your reasons to not watch football..... Solved.
Professor Rosseforp
Guest
This is a good point. I don't mind a bit of rugby league or rugby union. But if we look at a rugby league scrum, we see play acting -- there is no scrum. If we look at passing in either code, the ball is often thrown forward (not "drifting forward") -- so there is play acting. If anyone ever watched George Gregan pretending he was about to put the ball into the scrum -- play acting, he never had any intention of doing so -- he is waiting for the ref to call a penalty. If we see players "accidentally" getting in the way of tacklers, or ballplayers delivering a wraparound pass (shepherding), we see gamesmanship that dares the referee to call the offender out. I would be happy to give a dollar to anyone for every straight lineout throw in union, if they were prepared to give me a dollar for every throw that was directed towards the thrower's own team. I would come out on top in every match. Above all, in both codes we have the oft-repeated mantra to "let the game flow", which means ignore the rules of the game for a concept that does not even exist in the rules of the game -- "game flow".
dasilva
Roar Guru
In terms of reducing injury feigns and time wasting Simply introduce stop clock Graham poll suggestion "I would like to see an amendment to the law relating to time-keeping, whereby an independent time keeper actually records the amount of time the ball is in play. Then once that time reaches 45 minutes the referee is informed and the half ends at the next natural stoppage." http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1214932/GRAHAM-POLL-Its-time-stop-clock-watching-pressure-refs-Old-Trafford.html#ixzz36K1wTPqL
Kyle Stewart
Roar Pro
What is homophobic about stating what afl players wear?
Football Chap
Roar Rookie
Fuss my good chap, I agree with you on many things. But, isn't the reaction of non-football folk a normal one, that will ultimately subside as their exposure to the sport increases over time. Rather than dismiss this reaction to the unfamiliar, perhaps we should see it for what it is and help the transition?
apaway
Roar Guru
It's an old chestnut but let's call it for what it is; cheating. And cheating to gain an advantage happens in almost every professional sport. Sometimes it takes the form of "conning the ref" and football is not alone in this kind of attempted manipulation (doesn't make it right and I for one hate divers but there IS a difference between a "dive" and "playing" for a penalty/free kick by inviting the foul).
Football Chap
Roar Rookie
Nick, you sound like a good egg. But, if aspects of the sport were so repulsive, why has the game been so successful across so many different types of cultures? (including masculine cultures)
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
"If you had pointed out the deplorable work of Jetta from Essendon or Waite from Carlton, I would be right on your page." The thing is, as a football fan, I'd never bother bringing such stuff up because it's part of AFL. It happens every game, every week. It's not just football & AFL. Every sport where humans are involved, a human being will try to do whatever he/she can to gain an advantage. If that means diving, throwing your head back like you've been in a car accident, throwing your body forward, etc. fans either accept it as part of that sport, or they stop watching the sport. Only Egg Ball fans want to get sanctimonious & point fingers claiming "if it weren't for this Strayians would embrace sockkah".
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
it's one persons opinion. to quote you, "despite what you seem to think, the roar is a forum for where people can put up there opinions about any given sport and how they feel about it." Micka, go along to an a-league game next season with an open mind and decide whether you like it or not by being a part of it for a little while.
Bondy
Guest
Steele You suggest " The article was about diving but predictably became another code war blog thanks to the usual suspects…" . How would you know who the usuals are here ?. You've only been here two days, unless you change usernames frequently.
magila cutty
Guest
Bring back the biff