Sport's Dark Side

 by Wilf Brown

(image: Guardian)

In my opinion, sport is a wonderful thing. There are so many different kinds of sports, all bringing different joys. In World War One, it brought the Germans and British together, for a game of football, in the middle of a period of hatred and death. It can bring people together, unite others all across the globe. Sport is a wonderful thing. A wonderful, wonderful thing. 

Until you meet its dark side that is. 

First up, cheating. Probably one of the most famous examples of this can be found in football (soccer). Most say that Diego Maradona deliberately ignored the no hand-ball rule, and won the 1986 World Cup thanks in part to this. Many would also recall Marco Bielsa’s spying antics on close rivals to the club that he is still currently managing, Leeds United. 

Another example of sports people taking matters into their own hands is when Leganes' manager Enrique Martin’s side played Segunda Division (Second Division in the Spanish Leagues) rivals Badajoz in 1999. They were winning 1-0 in a match but their advantage looked in peril when their opponents broke forward late in the game. It seems that Martin just couldn’t help himself and, as Badajoz forward, Sabino Santos, hurtled down the touchline, Martin nicked the ball nonchalantly off his toe resulting in Martin getting a 10-game ban.

Next, a military-style drone once targeted professional footballers in order to spy on France’s preparations for their opening World Cup 2014 match. Their training was disrupted when an unmanned aircraft buzzed around their training pitch, said to be on a spying mission for their opponents, Honduras. Olivier Giroud & co. failed to bring down the airborne interloper with volleys, and FIFA half-heartedly investigated.

Rugby is not exempt from cheating scandals. Over the past few seasons, play-acting has caused concern for many supporters and made them question the direction in which Rugby League is heading. The infiltration of so-called football tactics - wriggling around on the floor, trying to earn a penalty despite minimal contact - is becoming an increasing problem.

In cricket, cheating comes in the form of batsmen refusing to walk when they’ve nicked one through to the wicketkeeper, when a fielder claims a catch that hasn’t carried or when a team or individual conspires to ‘fix’ the result of a game or passage of play. At an amateur level, you can add to that list umpires (the cricket term for a referee) who refuse to call their teammates out, lbw (leg before wicket) or fielders who claim that the ball hasn’t gone past the boundary edge when it has. A specific example of dishonourable behaviour can be found at Addington 1743 where they fielded Mohammad Amir in a Surrey League fixture despite the fact that he was banned for five years as a result of spot fixing. Another high profile example was seen at the second Test between Australia and India in January 2008 in Sydney. Andrew Symonds, playing for Australia, on 30 runs, edged the ball bowled by Ishant Sharma and was caught by MS Dhoni behind the stumps. However, both the Umpire and Symonds were of the opinion that he had not hit the ball. The Indian team appealed in the knowledge that Symonds had hit it. Umpire Steve Bucknor, somehow, didn’t see the edge and Symonds stood his ground. He went on to make 162 not out. Australia won. 

Now on to golf. Recreational golfers don't have to be fanatical about playing by the rules so long as they aren't claiming they are playing by the rules — a friendly game of golf without worrying about the score is different than lying about the score a player makes, and ultimately, no one likes a cheater. However, we've all encountered people in those situations who do cheat and most golf cheaters break down into common types: The Eraser; the "I-Would-Have-Made-That-Anyway" line dropper; the Balldropper; the Bumpers, Foot-Wedgers and Hand-Wedgers; the Sandbagger; the Play-By-Their-Own-Rulesers; and the Doesn't-Know-the-Rules. Most common is probably the Erasers who literally erase one score from the scorecard and write down a lower one, but more often The Eraser simply erases a stroke here, a stroke there from his memory and, subsequently, his scorecard!

The last sport I wanted to mention within the context of cheating is Formula One. There have been tons of scandals and cheats during the years of this sport, but which ones really stand out? Perhaps one of the most high-profile examples of foul play was during the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix at the A1-Ring, now known as Red Bull Ring. Entering the final stretch of the race, Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello was leading. He looked set to win the race, until team orders came, instructing him to slow down and let his teammate, Michael Schumacher, overtake him for the win and in order to gain maximum points. Barrichello followed the orders and Schumacher won the race. It was not the first time this had happened, and Schumacher was booed by the crowd during a bizarre podium ceremony that saw Ferrari fined $1million. Having seen enough, the F1A (Formula One Association) created rules banning race orders that affect the outcome of the race.

The other unacceptable part of sport that I wish to discuss can be found in the racist comments and attitudes of (a small number) of the fans. At long last, public awareness and condemnation are growing and action is being taken. 

As most saw in 2008 and 2009, even Formula One is not immune to the racist stupidity and ignorance of some fans. In 2008 in Spain, British driver Lewis Hamilton was greeted by spectators in black-face who taunted and abused the driver every time he pitted during testing. In 2009, at the Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton yet again faced the same scenario. Other team drivers came to his defence but fans can’t help feeling that the way these situations were dealt with by the officials was inadequate before being then swept under the rug entirely. Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone dismissed the situation as being nothing more than a joke. 

Football is probably the most well-known for this type of abuse. Social media has highlighted the terrible and shameful beliefs of some fans. For example, when the England national team played Bulgaria last year in June, many Bulgarian fans bullied and abused all of the black English players. They did so by making faces and expressions as soon as the footballers got into earshot distance of them. Despite England leaving Bulgarian soil victorious, not many players could enjoy their success. 

Another example of racism in sport can be found in Australia. An Australian Football Rules game was interrupted by a racist spectator, who hurled a banana at a player of Aboriginal descent. The racist action was explained in Carl-Gustaf Scott's book on racism in sport, “Swedish Football”, where he discusses the origins of such racist attitudes "dating back to the late nineteenth century, with the birth of ‘scientific racism’ and social Darwinism, racist theories that held that people of African descent were less evolved (both biologically and culturally) than white Europeans.” Recently, players Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling have been leading lights in bringing racism in sport to public attention through social media, helping influence a significant backlash against racist actions and attitudes. 

Finally, I want to briefly mention homophobia which has also sadly played a big part in the sporting careers of some. One of the more famous modern day athletes to talk about this is Gareth Thomas, a Welsh rugby superstar. In 2009, Thomas chose to discuss his sexuality, and in doing so, the prejudice that exists within sport. Gareth Thomas has been seeking to include homophobic abuse in the 1991 Football Offences Act so that it is dealt with in the same way as racism on the pitch. 

As I explained above, sport has many wonderful benefits; it’s inclusive, accessible, inexpensive, good for your health, the list goes on. But we, as a society, have a long way still to go to ensure that high-profile sports are more disciplined, and when rules are broken (and it is inevitable that they sometimes will be) people are punished or made examples of. Until the public can see this happening, I do not believe sports players can be true role models, if they choose to bend the rules for themselves whenever it suits. And fans must be educated to realise that racism and homophobia in sport are completely unacceptable.