Gonzalo Pieres urges for implementing playoffs to avoid pre-arranged games
Legendary Argentinean polo pro, Gonzalo Pieres, believes that the proposal of implementing playoffs came up as a way to avoid the pre-arranged games that are occurring regularly in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Explaining the entire scenario, he stated that the playoff games will be contested to determine the finalist of the two teams holding even results. He further elaborated that the positions will not be ascertained by goal difference, as matches are pre-arranged
in such cases.
In his view, the playoff games should comprised of two to three sets of play, and it is the most sensible technique to avoid the pre-arranged games.
He opined that it will be a great achievement if the playoffs are applied, as they will disperse any reservations over the outcomes.
Pieres stated that the justification of pre-fixed fixtures is attributed to prevent the polo mares from exhausting.
What use is a victory when a team has already qualified for the finals, he added. He informed that the teams make agreements with each other to win or lose the game with a difference of one goal.
In such cases, the Argentinean polo pro commented, sometimes, a third side is being affected. Due to the pre-fixed games, the third squad might end up losing its position in the finals, he continued.
He went on to say that this also affects the overall results of the tournament.
Pieres claimed, “This happens a lot in the UK and the US. Lots of games were pre-arranged during the US Open last year, and the same thing happened the previous year in England. Half of the matches played in the UK this year were pre-arranged”.
He stated that he presented his proposal ahead of the Gold Cup in UK but it was a bit late, which is why the administrators did not implement it.
However, he asserted that the administrators of the Gold Cup will have to adopt this strategy ultimately, as they too were greatly irritated by the pre-determined games.
He also expressed that similar practices happened in Argentina but not in the Open Tournaments. However, they used to be happen when cross semi-finals were played.
He frankly uttered, “If you want to make sure you avoid a playoff, you must win every single game. Some players may not like this, as they prefer to pre-arrange matches, which are very bad, awfully bad for polo”.
He described that the playoff system will not only do justice to the sport itself but also to the spectators who come to enjoy the games.
It has not been determined whether Gonzalo Pieres is true in his claims or not, but pre-fixing practices do have negative effects on the sport. The concerned authorities should take steps in this regard, to make the game a fair one for the players as well
as the onlookers.
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