It’s safe to say we all hate cheating in football.
There’s nothing worse than losing a game because a player has dived to win a penalty – Christian Benteke, we’re looking at you – or seeing a shot being ruled as over the line in the days before goal line technology *cough Luis Garcia, cough*.
And today, Bayern Munich player Philipp Lahm has made a stand, by penning an open letter asking footballers to be more sporting and help referees reach accurate decisions.
In the letter, Lahm even mentions Frank Lampard’s goal against Germany in the 2010 World Cup.
Speaking about the incident:
Examples like the Frank Lampard goal at World Cup 2010 in South Africa show that this is not an easy job. Although the ball was clearly behind the line, the goal was disallowed.
Instead of England equalising to make the score 2-2, we, Germany, kept our 2-1 advantage and won the game in the end.
It was an incorrect decision that could have been avoided had there been the technological solutions we have nowadays.
As we all remember too painfully, Lampard’s ‘ghost goal’ was not given and Germany went on to win the game 4-1.
Lahm also urged players to be more sporting and help officials reach the correct decision if they know they are gaining an unjust advantage.
The referee only has full control if the players observe the rules. Mistakes that influence the result can happen, though. The player who really knows the rules gives no reason for the referee to miss a foul because he is not committing one.
Sporting behaviour means fair behaviour. This is the player’s task, not the referee’s.
We can’t help but think Lahm’s comments are somewhat hypocritical though, having played in the game where Lampard’s shot crossed the line and would have made the score 2-2.
Either way, the Bayern Munich legend is all for fair play, and we’re right behind him.
