On Tuesday, the FIFA World Cup was thrown into controversy by Uruguay and Liverpool striker Luis Suarez. Suarez appeared to bite Giorgio Chiellini. If he is found guilty it will be the third time Suarez has been found guilty of this offence. In 2010 while playing for Ajax he bit Otman Bakkal of PSV incurring a 7 match ban. In 2013 Suarez, now playing for Liverpool, sunk his teeth into Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic, this time getting a 10 match ban. Now FIFA must decide what sort of punishment they will give Suarez for a third offence. Unfortunately I can see the usual half measures and slap on the wrist with the very real possibility he lines up for Liverpool on the opening day of the 2014/15 season as FIFA only impose an international ban.
Rugby by comparison is much more severe with its punishments and has been far more effective in limiting incidents of serious foul play. These incidents still happen, rugby is by no means squeaky clean, but it does have a proper disciplinary system.
Taking biting as an example, depending on the severity of the incident, a maximum sentence of 4 years is available to Rugby Officials, with recent bans handed out with lengths of 6 months, 18 months and eighty weeks. All of these bans included all forms of rugby, both Club and International matches in all competitions. Stomping is another case where rugby and football differ greatly in the severity of punishment. Charlie Adam of Stoke got a 3 match ban for his stomp on Oliver Giroud. Also earlier this year Ospreys Ian Evans was banned for 12 weeks for stomping on Leinster’s Mike McCarthy. Evans ban meant he missed the whole Six Nations tournament.
So why does football continue to be a soft touch when it comes to discipline? The answer is simply it all comes down to money. FIFA and its associations want the top players playing in the top tournaments. This means they can sell more tickets, charge more for television rights and sell more merchandise. No doubt many Liverpool fans will buy the latest jersey for their children with Suarez’s name plastered on the back of it despite him being about as suitable a role model as say, Mike Tyson.
Rugby on the other hand works hard to maintain its sporting integrity and when players and officials do cross the line they are hit hard. Coach Dean Richards was given a worldwide ban of 3 years for trying to cheat by having a player fake a blood injury to replace him with another player who had already been taken off but could have potentially kicked a winning goal for his Harlequins side. Harlequins lost the match in any case, but Richards was caught and the sanctions imposed.
Unfortunately modern football is a world where officials care more about the bottom line than they do about the integrity of the game. With players diving and trying to con referees, and being allowed to do so with near impunity, the last time a footballer was disciplined for diving retrospectively was Arsenal’s Eduardo in 2009 and the ban was overturned on appeal with no suspension served.
Until football gets tough with its players and cites them much like rugby using television to aid referees so that unseen incidents are punished after the fact, players will still act as if it is all part of the game.
Every player at the 2014 World Cup has a FIFA fair play badge on his arm but it is a meaningless symbol if FIFA does not come down appropriately on those that do not adhere to that ideal. However it all comes back to the money, the footballing authorities and clubs want their top players playing so they can market and sell their games and tournaments and while this is the overriding priority, it will be seen as a sport that sold its soul.
For the latest sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow my Twitter account –@LWOSRob. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Feel free to discuss this and other footy related articles with thousands of fans at r/football.
Main Photo:
