Hello everyone! First of all, sorry for not having been able to write any in-depth blog posts lately. I’ve had university exams and was also busy with work so the blog had to rest for a while. However, this doesn’t mean that I haven’t been enraged by the world of sports in this period. But I managed to maintain calm and not write my anger down.
Anyways, this week has been too much. So there will actually be two What Really Grinds My Gears this week. Both go into a similar direction: how sportsmanship has been trampled on in both football and darts. On live tv. Before the holidays. Too much for any sports-enthusiast to bare.
Let’s start with football. I know many people here in Switzerland who prefer hockey over football. And I really hat arguing with them, as I see things differently. But one of their main arguments has ridiculously been proven to be true this week. They keep saying that football players are huge pussies who can’t do anything but dive after the slightest touch.
Now, if that happens between players on the pitch that’s one thing. During the game you might want to secure a free kick from a promising position or you want to have that opponent sent off who has already been booked before. I can understand that to a certain extent. It’s the heat of the moment and the spirit of desperately wanting your team to win. Two aspects that make football one of the greatest sports on the globe, but it’s also these two factors that generate space for cheating and behavior that we don’t want to see in the beautiful game.
Last week, however, things have been taken too far. In the German cup, a coach has been caught diving trying to provoke a red card. I’m talking about Heiko Herrlich, the coach that took sleeping giant Bayer Leverkusen back to old strength in the Bundesliga. During the game against Borussia Mönchengladbach he produced the most ridiculous dive I have ever seen in my entire life. As a coach. As a role model. Heiko Herrlich just ruined his entire integrity and sympathy that he has build up with great managing skills this season with this one move.
I have nothing else to say but: Shame on you, Heiko.
After the ball went out and Gladbach player Denis Zakaria went to collect it, he slightly touched Herrlich with his hands. Neither was that a strong touch, nor did he intend any aggression whatsoever towards him. Still, Herrlich goes down like Zakaria stabbed him with a f*cking sword.
See for yourself:
Now I’m a big supporter of harsh rules towards diving players. Being able to ban them even after the game when video proves that they dived is one of the few really useful new rules that have been introduced to football. This time, this rule needs to be brought up against Herrlich as a manager.
At least, Herrlich apologized for his dive and takes full responsivbility. This proves, he can and should be forgiven. Still, if he won’t get banned for this ridiculous move many questions will have to be answered about the general state of modern day football. Maybe hockey is actually better after all.
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