Mum, is that the Young Matildas?
"Who's that," said the young girl watching the team in Australian colours fighting the team in Chinese colours on the telly.
"That's the Matildas," replied the Mum.
Well I saw my friend Tom Sermanni defending the Young Matildas and I know some of the shenanigans that have gone on in games against the Chinese and North Koreans in the past but what the team did in response to a player allegedly being tripped, debatable from the footage in my opinion, what the player and team did is....
a disgrace.
No if's, no buts.
I'm sure there will be howls from those in the know, about how they were treated by the other teams, the other fans, even the referee. But it don't make it right does it?
Not for Australian national teams.
What provcation on a sporting field leads to this sort of rubbish. It might be acceptable to Australians in State Of Origin or AFL but in my view football, men and women's doesn't need it. Not at a National level of Division 9 level.
Our leaders have to balance between building team unity, support etc and out and out thuggery.
One Australian girl had her eyes opened that night.
And it was noted we lost the game!
5 comments:
i don't think "tripped" is debatable. i've watched the footage over and over. those 2 players needn't have stayed linked, several other players were standing alone. i've also freeze framed and slow mo'd the footage, the chinese player knees the australian as she walks passed. deceptively sure, but as a current player i've seen it done many a time during a match, it's an equally applicable action post match too, if you are undisciplined enough. I don't necessarily condone what ensued, but place yourself in their situation, can you honestly say you would be unfeeling if the referee had cost you your world cup chances, your centre back had been dodgily sent off and some chinese fool had the audacity to rub salt in the wound by tripping your player? Don't judge until you have walked in their shoes
I note you say "you don't neccessarily condone what ensued"
and I don't have to walk in their shoes to know what went on was wrong.
So you think I wouldn't have been upset by any number of decisions, perceived bias when I played sport, weren't you?
Did you run in and get into the brawl?
Of course there was the utmost provacation but I like to set the bar for Nick D'Arcy, Barry Hall,Eric Cantona, Young Matildas, or whoever as high as possible.
Particularly for Australian sports stars.
It was a disgrace for a national Australian team.
There will be poorer decisions, more perceived bias on the local Aussie parks every weekend...so what, we all run in and have a fight.
We don't need it, provacation or not.
Problem belong them.
the fight wasn't started by the poor decisions, they compounded the tension sure. But if a person took a swipe at your player after a game, especially the most harmless player in your team, because i know that teresa polias couldn't hurt a fly, would you not have their back?
i would certainly be straight in there, perhaps not reacting with my fists, but each to their own.
Each to their own as you say...no I wouldn't have been in there...but that's just me..and this ain't about me.
This is about a national team. And sure you can excuse and forgive any individuals...but just doesn't make them right.
And they should be disciplined. I suspect the FFA will come down hard and in my view they should.
There is no place for this in any game at any level in Australia.
Despite our support for the team/players etc.
Anyhoo there will always be differences of opinion so feel free to have the final word or just leave as is.
cheers
Eamonn
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