Sporting honesty

[Deleted Member 1156]

Golfers and snooker players play their sport to the highest level of integrity and honesty so why should footballers be so different? I've played golf with a few ex pro footballers and they play to the rules on the course so why not when playing football?

Diving, feigning injury, shirt tugging, biting(!) to name just a few things. Why are some sports virtually squeaky clean but others are riddled with cheats?

 

[fundy]

Not sure in the light of Stephen Lee and John Higgins you can say Snooker is played to the highest level of integrity!

The ultimate answer is money and greed - too much of both tend to spoil sport and the "sporting nature", great that golf is pretty much untarnished

 

[Dodger]

Not sure in the light of Stephen Lee and John Higgins you can say Snooker is played to the highest level of integrity!

The ultimate answer is money and greed - too much of both tend to spoil sport and the "sporting nature", great that golf is pretty much untarnished

Nor golf.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

There will always be exceptions fundy but by and large snooker (on the table not off it) is played to a high level. I've often seen players call fouls on themselves that the ref has missed. OK, there have been some notable 'indiscretions' about match fixing etc which is a shame as that sort of thing can tarnish the whole sport.

 

[Rumpokid]

Golfers and snooker players play their sport to the highest level of integrity and honesty so why should footballers be so different? I've played golf with a few ex pro footballers and they play to the rules on the course so why not when playing football?

Diving, feigning injury, shirt tugging, biting(!) to name just a few things. Why are some sports virtually squeaky clean but others
are riddled with cheats?

Surely if ex footballers it was a job ie money,career etc...Golf was played for fun i guess, and herein lies the difference.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Surely if ex footballers it was a job ie money,career etc...Golf was played for fun i guess, and herein lies the difference.

Pro golfers very rarely cheat but it's considered part and parcel of the game now in football

 

[Rumpokid]

Jimmy White,one of the greatest ambassadors to ever played the game...As first poster mentioned playing with ex pro footballers, i played snooker alongside Dave Martin and Tony Jones,talented pro's,these too were great players and advocates of the game.

 

[fundy]

There will always be exceptions fundy but by and large snooker (on the table not off it) is played to a high level. I've often seen players call fouls on themselves that the ref has missed. OK, there have been some notable 'indiscretions' about match fixing etc which is a shame as that sort of thing can tarnish the whole sport.

Players may well have called the odd foul on themselves but theres far more going on than just the 2 mentioned above. May well have been a "clean sport" previously but hard to call it that these days. dont get me wrong a lot of the top players have high levels of integrity, but plenty others who dont

 

[gmc40]

Culture of the game unfortunately. It's frowned upon in golf etc but not in football. Doesn't mean golfers are better people than footballers though does it? Look at shagger woods. Not afraid of a bit of off course cheating himself is he? I'm sure he's not alone.

 

[chrisd]

The difference is the officiating. Football has a referee and at least 2 assistants who make all the decisions, the players don't make any decisions. If a player is unfairly fouled, or dives, it's up to the officials to determine the consequence. If a player dives the officials can hand out the laid down sanction, playing to the rules is unnecessary as there are laid down penalties for players who cheat and if their willing to pay the price for transgressing that's their prerogative.

Golf and snooker are, at least at our level, self governing, so cheating is frowned upon and not to be tolerated as a cheat can get away scot free if he isn't blatent.

Most people would consider a golf cheat much more harshly than a football or rugby cheat

 

[JCW]

Its down to money and the managers and coaches who will do anything to win or get an edge and those that watch the game just let most of it go , as for playing with ex pros . footballers , they cheat at golf too as I have come across a few , golf is not all honest too , maybe in the pro ranks but the rest cheat in other ways , one being bandit handicaps , guys playing off say 10 when nearer a 2 handicap be about right , they keep these high handicaps and claim they cant do it when they have a medal card in thier hands , these same guys then go on to win comps with big prizes with a card , there are other ways and we have all seen it , most however play it straight thank god ..........................EYG

 

[jp5]

No spirit of integrity in football unfortunately, and don't think that will change. It's a 'win at all costs' attitude. Better refereeing (including video refereeing) may go someway to claiming back sportmanship as there'll be no point diving/cheating if a video ref can point it out. Given how long it's taken just to get the goal review system in though I don't expect we'll see video refs. Be good for the game tho.