It has been 48 hours since Uruguay’s player Luis Suarez used his hands to push a goal-bound ball out and ended Ghana Black Star’s advancement in the ongoing South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Portuguese Referee Olegario Benquerenca saw the action and awarded a penalty to Ghana Black Stars and showed Suarez the red card. This was cheating at its most reprehensible level, but that was what the laws of the game dictated, so not much can be said about that.

However, when Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan failed to convert the resultant penalty kick and the game ended 4-2 after a penalty shootout in favour of Uruguay, a completely new dimension was added to the whole episode – Suarez benefited from engaging in an illegal act.

The Cheat became a hero in Uruguay and this Writer expected FIFA to come out to condemn Suarez and thereby distance itself from that despicable act. This Writer has not been expecting FIFA to overturn the decision of the Referee because it was in conformity with the laws governing the game.

With the silence of FIFA one wonders what lesson FIFA is teaching the youth of the world. “It is good to cheat and indeed you should cheat if it would favour you or your country?”

FIFA President Sepp Blatter found it necessary to comment on and indeed to apologise for Referees’ errors in the England – Germany and Argentina-Mexico matches but has been mute on this rather dangerous lesson being taught to the youth of the world.

The London Evening Standard Reporter Simon Johnson reported among other things on 30 June 2010:  “It is obvious that after the experience so far in this World Cup it would be nonsense to not reopen the file of technology at the business meeting of the International FA Board in July,” said Blatter.

“I deplore it when you see evident referee mistakes but it’s not the end of a competition or the end of football, this can happen.

“I have spoken to the two federations directly concerned. I have apologised and I understand they are not happy and that people are criticising.

“The English said thank you and accepted that you win some and lose some, and the Mexicans bowed their heads and accepted it. We will take on board the discussion on goal-line technology.”
He added: “We will start with a new concept of how to improve match control. Something has to change.”

The silence of Blatter over this matter also brings into serious question FIFA claims of being against racism. Can it be interpreted that Mr Blatter apologised because the errors were committed against the English and the Mexicans and not an African?

This Writer was saddened when a young Ghanaian Soccer Fan said: “These Whites have been cheating in all our dealings with them. In football too they have cheated. We Africans are taught to be fair in our dealings with others but these Whites cheat at every opportunity.

An African player would never have thought of using his hands under such a circumstance but the player (Suarez) did that on impulse and that shows that they are taught to cheat.”

This episode incidentally has proven Kwaku Ananse, the archetypical cheat in Akan mythology, right. Ananse in all his dealings finds ways and means of cheating individuals, systems and society in general and Akans are taught to be on the lookout for people like him and to avoid them.

This shows that irrespective of the platitudes on virtue it is more advantageous and beneficial to cheat at this level of existence. Cheating pays, notwithstanding, what the various religions teach.

Now let us return to the rules governing soccer. According to 2010/2011 FIFA Law 10: The method of scoring – “A goal is scored when the whole of the ball passes over the goal line between the goal posts and under the crossbar provided that no infringement of the laws of the Game has been committed previously by the team scoring the goal.”

It is the view of this Writer that FIFA must take advantage of the latest episode in the Uruguay-Ghana encounter at the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup to improve upon the law on scoring of a goal by adding; “or if players of a team deliberately infringes on the laws of the Game to prevent the ball from crossing the goal line”.

So the law on scoring should read: “A goal is scored when the whole of the ball passes over the goal line between the goal posts and under the crossbar provided that no infringement of the laws of the Game has been committed previously by the team scoring the goal or if players of a team conceding a goal deliberately infringe on the laws of the Game to prevent the ball from crossing the goal line.”

This Writer is of the view that it is not fair to impose an additional responsibility on a team that is about to score a goal to go through the nerve-wracking experience of having to take a penalty kick, when that team had not committed any infringement.

After all humanity must learn from its experiences and make amends as it moves towards perfection.

The Suarez case has dented the FIFA avowed commitment to fairness, indeed it has made nonsense of the “My Game Is Fair” slogan of FIFA and the earlier the needed changes were made the better it would be for the “Most Popular Sports” in this part of existence.

Credit: Boakye-Dankwa Boadi

Source: GNA