I guess no major sports have a mercy type rule. Usually that happens for some sports at the college level or younger kids , at least in the US . This year the NCAA softball tourney had some games end early due to the mercy rule.
Ok. Then the question is whether or not there are customs on how you conduct yourself when doing so. That’s going to be a slippery standard, of course. But (to again reference baseball, which I know more about), while you have a clear “rule” that you don’t steal bases when you’re up big, no one expects the batters to just strike out intentionally. But if you hit a home run, excessive celebration is going to be ill-received (of course, it can also be ill-received even in a close game, like I said, it’s a slippery standard).
I’m genuinely curious about the customs of the sport. There is something that feels un-sporting (un-dignified) about celebrating a rout. But different sports have different standards.
During Germany’s famous 7-1 crushing of Brazil in the 2014 men’s World Cup, the Germans purposefully dialed down their attack in the second half and also celebrated much less. That was a knockout game, not group stage, but yes there was more sportsmanship there.
Actually soccer is supposed to be #1 as far as respect and fairplay goes- they give out AWARDS to players for good sportsmanship. The World Cup gives out a trophy, money and medals to each player on the team that best meets their Fair Play criteria.
Absolutely, and that was a match between teams of two equals- US and Thailand are barely playing the same sport.
Cite? As far as I can tell, there’s more cheating in soccer than any sport other than maybe water polo. Every time the ball goes out, both team claims it was the other teams fault. If you almost touch a guy in the face, he takes a dive and rolls around like you’re Mike Tyson delivering a knock-out blow. They dive in the box to draw PKs, dive on the field to draw free kicks, pretend to be injured to get some rest for the team. They waste time if they’re up by taking longer for a throw in, changing throwers, etc. They argue with and whine at the refs – you never see that in Rugby or hockey, really (sure, baseball and football, probably basketball but I don’t watch it)
Granted, much of that’s on the men’s side – the women seem to dive and cheat much less.
If they were such great sportsmen and women, they wouldn’t need the award.
Really, that statement is laughable.
FIFA gives out awards for fair play, I don’t think any major (US anyway) sport gives an award to the team with the fewest fouls or similar. Maybe hockey? Yes, everything you said about diving and all is correct, but FIFA doesn’t condone it, and would love nothing more than to drive it out of the sport- they give cards now for diving, correct?
Go to youtube and watch the videos of various players incorrectly awarded a penalty who go to the ref and tell them no, they tripped on their own, and deny the penalty, or miss it on purpose. Then show me anything similar in other major US sports.
That’s just a cite that they give out those awards, not that it’s the number 1 for respect and fair play. As I said, to me, that’s an indication that they want to improve, not an indication that they are better. If they had so much respect and fair play, they wouldn’t need to call it out.
Yes they can give out cards for diving, but it seems really rare to me. They could put a stop to it by handing out post-game yellow and red cards, based on reviews of the game, and even fines. If you obviously dive, you get a yellow (and if would have been your second for that game, it would be a red, making you sit a game). If you obviously dive in a critical moment, that would be a red, making you sit for a game. If you obviously dive in the box, that’s a red and a fine (at least at the highest levels). That would go a long way to driving it out.
Anyway, this is a hijack. I think the USWMT did just fine. Morgan was this close to breaking the single game scoring record – those are opportunities that a team is not going to miss just to be polite. Jeez.
Just a few months ago Aston Villa, fighting for promotion to the EPL, allowed another team to score after they had scored a dubious goal. Getting to the EPL means tens of millions to a club, maybe hundreds. And they risked that, to do the right thing. Show me one NBA player who has ever missed foul shots on purpose, or a QB throwing an INT on purpose in a similar situation.
Pre-Twitter/Facebook/internet, would there be this much “outrage”?
I must address this. You simply CANNOT do this. As the referee, you are obligated to make sure that 90 min. are played. Added time for stoppages (substitutions, mostly) cannot be ignored just because you want to end a game under some sort of mercy rule.
As for what the American women did, my respect for them drops. There’s no need for what they did. Period. It was nothing other than a calculated attempt to intimidate future opponents, and classy teams don’t need to score 13 to do that.
Brett Favre allowed Michael Strahan to get a sack on him to set the record for sacks. It did not impact the outcome of the game.
This is an example of very poor sportsmanship on Favre’s part, IMO. Big old middle finger to Mark Gastineau.
that was one guy doing a solid for another guy. He did not allow the sack as a courtesy for a previous roughing the passer call that he thought was invalid, to make back the yardage lost.
And the diving in soccer gets a bad rap, as though in other sports there are opportunities to do something similar, and they take they high road.
In baseball, the only real contact between opposing players is baserunning, and nothing in the sport analogous to diving comes into play.
In basketball, you have your flopping, which can backfire if you flop, don’t get the call and your man drives by you and scores.
In football, if you are a DB and feel the WR has committed offensive PI and you fall down, you run the risk of not getting the call and your man blowing by you and scoring.
In both football and basketball, it is just as common as in soccer during a player confrontation for one player to pretend the opponent hit them, or hit them harder than it appeared, to get the opponent penalized, same as soccer.
With soccer diving, it is almost always a player has lost control of the ball or otherwise knows he will not score or retain possession and thus dives, other sports do not really have similar scenarios to adequately compare to.
And soccer divers are not lauded or put on a pedestal, they are subject to ridicule and shame from players and fans alike when they do, and the reputations of the known divers definitely drops as a result.
It was Leeds, not Villa that allowed the goal. (They pretty much had a minuscule chance of not finishing in position 3-6 to qualify for playoffs but not getting automatic promotion as the gaps between them and the 2nd placed team and the 7th placed team were both high enough to be practically ironclad.) It’s virtually guaranteed they would not have showed such sportsmanship had the incident happened in one of their play-off games v Derby.
Any attempt for USA women not to play their best game would be an insult to the Thai women. If USA could have got 20 but they dialled back to “only” get 13 then that “low” score also would be an insult.
If football counted down and stopped the clock like American sports, would you also say that teams should not score in the last 4 minutes if they are a few goals ahead, because that’s functionally identical.
The celebrations for the goals in this game were not excessive with the possible exception of Rapinoe on the 9th. None of the rest were remotely over the top.
Leeds, thanks:)
I have no problem with 12-0. I agree playing keepaway and having the Thai women run around in vain trying to steal the ball would be more embarrassing to them than 12-0.
And American football teams usually try and not score when up very big, very late, its normally run three times up the middle.
Basketball you have the shot clock so they at least will put up a shot, but generally aren’t running detailed plays if up 30 in the last minute, and definitely on the final possession with the clock off, you do not shoot, ever, college or pro- your own coach will ream you if you do, usually.
Baseball affects personal stats and in relation a players money, so not a good comparison.
You obviously know soccer, so you know in England and others, even in the league, anything from the title to relegation to a place in Europe can, in theory, come down to goal differential- this year the title could have been decided by it had there been odd scores the last week. So a goal when up 3-0 in the 94th of week one could actually matter greatly, to the tune of millions of dollars. Yet you very rarely see a team try to score in stoppage time when up by 3, let alone 12. Passing out the game is not seen as disrespectful in the late minutes, either regular time or stoppage.
How many times have leagues come down to goal differential? In the 2018 WC, it affected 3 groups. In the 2015 WWC, it affected 3 groups and all 4 of the 3rd place rankings. Goal differential is vastly vastly more important in a knock out tournament than in a league.
You’re ok with 12-0, but not with Carli Lloyd scoring a goal in her last WC?
Keepaway would be more embarrassing, but they still shouldn’t score? Pass around until you’re completely unmarked 10 yards out, but then not shoot? Just take the L. They weren’t disrespectful at all and can hold their heads high.
Do you really believe in a group with Chile and Thailand, the US has a chance in a billion at not advancing, and that GD will be required? Chile has as much chance at getting a result vs. the US as Thailand did. Anything can happen in the Men’s World Cup because all of the teams there are of a minimum quality- Thailand has no business on the same field as top women’s teams, and is only there as FIFA wants to make the women’s a true world’s cup as well.
GD absolutely could matter in deciding first with Sweden, but as you know, depending on how other results go, the US may actually prefer to play the team they would play if second vs. first, so there is a possibility they will regret the excessive goal differential- a very good chance, happens all the time.
That has nothing to do with sportsmanship. They’re purposely trying to burn the clock to prevent the other team from scoring. Going to pass or trying to score would just give the other team a better chance.