FIFA World Cup Football - Suarez, a legend or a fraud?
What sort of a man would smile after being sent off in the quarter finals of the World Cup?
The answer, well, would be, Luis Suarez. Many considered him to be dumb to do such a thing, but he may have just won it for his side against Ghana. Ghana and Uruguay were tied 1-1 when the incident of the World Cup took place. The ball was deep in the penalty area of Uruguay, with Ghana players taking shots after shots at the goal. It was the dying moments of extra time, and Suarez, like many others, was back defending the goal. A shot from a Ghana player, was stopped by Suarez on the goal line, using both his hands and was awarded a straight red card for the foul. He was sent off, and a penalty was awarded to Ghana. Everyone expected Ghana to score and seal a famous victory, but it was not to be. Their leading scorer, Gyan, failed to score and hit the post, and the scores were drawn. Suarez jumped in excitement at the sidelines when Gyan missed the penalty and became an instant hero for his side. Uruguay qualified for the semi finals, winning on penalties. The question here is, is Suarez a legend or a cheat? To every Uruguayan fan, he is a hero, but to many neutrals and furious Africans, he is a cheat and a fraud.
A hot debate followed after the incident with people still trying to determine whether he was a cheat or a hero, and should FIFA introduce rules against such acts. Many believe that Suarez got his punishment when he was sent off and a penalty was awarded. Many expected that the penalty should be converted, and had Ghana scored, this debate would never have erupted, and Suarez would then be a wanted man in his own country. UK’s biggest Newspaper suggested that Luis Suarez prevented the goal from happening and was therefore penalized which should be punishment enough and applying a rule such as the penalty goal would only be against the spirit of the game.
In my opinion Suarez is not a cheat as he was just trying to do what any rational person would be doing in his place. No player would want his country to lose at such a stage and Suarez, perhaps, did it on his natural reflexes. There are already perfectly clear rules about such situations and its Ghana’s fault that they did not utilize over the penalty they were awarded with. It was there bad luck that Gyan did not convert that penalty as if he would have, Ghana would have qualified for the next round. So, how can you blame Suarez for cheating?
It will be unwise to bring in such rules which will automatically award the opposing teams with a goal. FIFA is quiet about this matter and it will be wise for them to stay this way. The timing of the incident may well be something to question as Ghana never really got the chance to capitalize with a one man advantage. Ghana performed poorly on penalties, even though they were on home soil and the whole of Africa was cheering for the only African team that was left in the World Cup. Their most noted players including the captain failed to convert the penalties while the Uruguayans remained calm and struck wonderful penalties to win the match 4-2.
We all know how Diego Maradona became a legend with his “hand of god” and how he was considered to be a legend in his country; but on the other hand, Thierry Henry’s act of handling the ball is still considered to be called as “cheating.” It is just a matter of perspective and how the fans look into things that happen on the field; for many Suarez is a legend who saved his country in the dying moments of the match while for others he is just a cheat who did not let the Africans advance to the semi finals for the first time in the history of the game.
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