Foul play

World Cup stars and the dark arts of the not-so-beautiful game

June 27, 2018

Adolfo
Arranz Young athletes, at the top of the game, playing in elite leagues, on contracts worth millions and millions of dollars are idols to children across the planet. As such, they have a moral responsibility to set fans an example of sporting play and good behaviour. Sadly, on the field – and sometimes off it – they are not always the epitome of good manners. We refer, of course, to modern-day footballers and how they’re in the cross-hairs more than ever during the 2018 World Cup

Skulduggery

Unfortunately, gamesmanship is still a big part of sport. Many protagonists aim to confuse or deceive the referee with puckish misdirection and deception

Hand of God

There have been plenty of goals scored by employing sleight of hand. Diego Armando Maradona’s goal in the 1986 Mexico World Cup is perhaps the most famous example one of the game’s darkest arts
Olympic-grade diving

It is an all-too-common practice for players to exaggerate a challenge by hurling themselves acrobatically to the ground in order to procure a foul from the referee. This is often accompanied by a series of roly-polies
Swan diving

Perhaps the most egregious exaggerations can be witnessed when players fake a foul and feign injury by plunging to the ground without any actual contact from the opponent

Violence

Consisting of both physical and verbal violence; homophobic and racial abuse are a grave and increasing concern in the game. Traditional football-related violence, however, is still prevalent

Biting

Not a common occurrence, but it does happen. In recent times biting instances have been mostly attributed to one particularly goofy goal-grabber who appears quite at ease with chomping on his opponents
Overzealous tackling

The most common form of on-field violence and the easiest to make appear accidental. It is a very effective tactic in stopping an opponent dead in their tracks, and has the potential to cause maximum damage. Most football injuries occur through robust tackling
Wrestling

There are many ways to stop an attacking player from getting past a defender, but when all else fails, some players resort to wrestling. Unsurprisingly, it is not listed in the laws of the game as an acceptable method of dispossession
Elbowing

The objective here is to ‘accidentally’ elbow the opponent in the face or chest while trying to evade attention, thereby stopping an attack with the added possibility of incapacitating them for the duration of the match. A very high-risk strategy
Headbutting

Sometimes players do not restrict themselves to using just their extremities to take out an opponent. A firm, well-aimed head thrust can be equally as effective

Bad manners

A look at some examples of poor on-field behaviour, which you hopefully wouldn’t engage in in public, much less your own living room

Blowing snot

A widespread habit of the modern-day footballer is to empty the contents of their noses onto the pitch. Curiously, it is not a phenomena one might come across in rugby or basketball
Spitting on the pitch

If one deemed it worthwhile to keep a tally, they would likely lose count of how often players feel the urge to expectorate on the field of play. At any one time there is an incalculable portion of the pitch glistening under an unhealthy accumulation of spittle
Spitting at opponents

Regrettably, sometimes players give in to the urge to aim their laryngeal discharge at an opponent. Apart from being extremely offensive, this enters the realm of criminal violence
Removing T-shirts

By removing their shirts, players may feel more at one with some of the more kooky sections of support, but it is, in fact, prohibited on the field of play under the laws of the game. A common practice, it can at best be referred to as impolite
This does not smell good

It is not just players with disgustingly unusual habits. One uber successful coach of a World Cup side is known to enjoy a sniff of his fingers after rummaging around in his trousers
Overfamiliarity

Some players occasionally distract and unsettle their rivals by groping around compromising parts of their opponent’s anatomy
Referee harassment

Hardly a match goes by without players protesting until they’re hoarse in an attempt to bully him into changing a decision. It is considered appalling manners – and has a ref ever overturned his decision?

Minor errancy

Perhaps not considered bad behaviour on the scale of the evidence presented, yet still offering the opportunity to cause some offence

Tattoos

Potential to offend can be found in the exhibition of some examples of body art. This increases exponentially when a player lacks a firm grasp of a foreign language they have chosen to permanently inscribe on their bodies
Time delay

Wily teams use all manner of tricks to wind down the clock once they think the game is in the bag. This mostly causes offence to paying spectators who have forked out hard-earned cash to watch two or sometimes three players form a human shield in the corner of the pitch around a motionless ball

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World Cup stars and the dark arts of the not-so-beautiful game

Skulduggery

Hand of God

Olympic-grade diving

Swan diving

Violence

Biting

Overzealous tackling

Wrestling

Elbowing

Headbutting

Bad manners

Blowing snot

Spitting on the pitch

Spitting at opponents

Removing T-shirts

This does not smell good

Overfamiliarity

Referee harassment

Minor errancy

Tattoos

Time delay

Bronze Medal

Bronze Medal

Bronze Medal

Bronze Medal

Follow our graphics team

Enjoying South China Morning Post graphics?

Hi, Internet Explorer user!