Bloody Nora! Martin Hansson didn't half cause a controversy last week when he failed to spot Thierry Henry handling the ball (not to mention being offside) in the World Cup qualifier against Ireland. Henry initially responded by saying "I’m not the ref". Quite. We gathered that, based on the fact that he didn't have a headset taped to his face.The response in France was mixed: it has widely been referred to as a "Referee error". Perhaps they don't have a word for "blatant, desperate cheating". Nevertheless, the public seems outraged, though this may be more due to the fact that the team, and the manager, are unpopular. Few there are calling for a rematch. Across the Channel the Irish are less restrained, calling for the game to be replayed and a boycott of French bread, French wine (yeah, right) and French kissing!
The case against Henry may be overstated: perhaps he did try to tell the referee what really happened. Unfortunately his post-goal celebration is what everyone saw. And his hand. Initial reactions are what count: the things we say before our agents or publicists have had a chance to coach us reveal what we really think. And it sounds as though Henry thinks that a crime not punished is a crime not committed.
This type of thinking seems to be endemic in nearly every professional sport and is a real problem. It sends the wrong signals to our children. It drives away disgusted viewers (though one can argue that the only people left watching football are the hardcores anyway). It drags acceptable levels for sportsmanship down to the lowest common denominator, from where only disaster is possible.
In sailing, there are a fraction of the number of officials at, say, a tennis match or football game. On the water judges are there mainly to facilitate instant decisions, which makes racing formats such as match racing and team racing more exciting. The onus is on the competitor to take a penalty where a rule has been infringed (other competitors have the right to protest any yacht they believe is guilty of an infringement). The Racing Rules of Sailing have a Basic Principle, which states that "A fundamental principle of sportsmanship is that when competitors break a rule they will promptly take a penalty, which may be to retire." Rule 2 (Fair Sailing) states quite clearly that "A boat and her owner shall compete in compliance with recognized principles of sportsmanship and fair play." A violation of such principles can result in disqualification from a race and this result being included in a series score, which can effectively ruin a regatta for the offending boat.
In other words, Thierry Henry would have been required to leave the field and ask that the goal be scratched and possession be surrendered. Or something like that. Do these seemingly draconian rules result in sailors competing like monks? No, of course not. Humans will be humans and we will push the rules to the max, an example being Rule 42. However, I would humbly suggest that Henry's offence was the same as using a paddle in a boat race: a hand on the ball in a game called football is such a blatant infraction that one cannot blame the the referee or, for that matter, the protest committee.
It's like a murderer saying that their victim died as a result of a "policing error".
Is the answer for football less officials? No, it is more technology. Can football learn from sailing? Maybe. Sailing is a much more complex sport, with myriad more possible scenarios. Every other sport has a rule, written or unwritten, that fair play shall govern competition. We have chosen to write this down and make its infringement so heavily punished that it is almost not worth trying. In football, where the rewards of winning seem to far outweigh the punishment of cheating, this is food for thought.
