Living it 20 - an audience of one

Responsibility?

When everyone but the referee and his assistant saw Tottenham’s Pedro Mendes’ shot clearly cross the goal-line before Manchester United goalkeeper Roy Carroll clawed it back, it was grist to the mill of supporters of video replays and other technology. When Bolton’s El-Hadji Diouf conned the ref with an elaborate dive to gain the decisive penalty in Bolton’s 1-0 win over Blackburn, his own manager even made an impassioned plea for video evidence to ensure the correct decision was made. There may well be a case for greater use of technology, but there is certainly a bigger issue – the responsibility and integrity of the players.

Two reactions to the Bolton goal, illustrate that the problem goes far beyond two individuals. Blackburn’s defeated manager, Mark Hughes, confessed afterwards that he “would be delighted” if one of his players had won a penalty in similar circumstances, before adding that “that doesn’t not make it right.” Former Blackburn player Tim Sherwood also admitted that he would have been delighted with any dive that meant that his team won the game, and gutted by the opposition doing so and getting away with it.

To ask what would Jesus have done in this situation may seem trite, but that is the standard to which the Christian aspires. For the Christian player, the command of Jesus to “love your neighbour as yourself” must equally apply to your team mates, the opposition and the officials. Is trying to gain an unfair advantage demonstrating love to the opposition? Is it loving to the referee to try to con him and make him look stupid?

Another interesting question raised by the incidents is this: Is there any obligation for a player to inform the officials if they have wrongly given a decision in his favour? After all, it is the responsibility of the official to make the decision, and that of the player to accept it, isn’t it?

Writing in The Sunday Times, Hugh McIlvanney suggested that if Roy Carroll had admitted to the referee that the ball had crossed the line, he would have deserved a medal from FIFA for sportsmanship. He added that the medal would probably have had to be presented posthumously after his team mates had dealt with him. So how does the player balance their responsibility to team mates with their responsibility to act with integrity?

Stuart Weir

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(NB: In referring to Roy Carroll and El-Hadji Diouf, we are using recent incidents to raise the issues. We are not implying any particular criticism of those players.)