cheating

In the newspaper today there was an interesting article about England's loss to Germany in the soccer world cup. The tournament this year has seen many controversial moments by both players and referees. I want to talk specifically about the players. I don't think that there is another sport in the world where cheating to gain the upper hand is such a common occurrence. The incident I'm referring to involved the captain of the English team, where his shot had freakishly made it over the goal line and then back into play. The 'save' was assisted by the German goalkeeper, who somehow manage to deceive the referee and continued on play. The goal was not awarded. After the match he admitted that it was indeed a goal.

This poses the question, what ever happened to honesty and sportsmanship? why are players always faking and acting in soccer? does normal ethics not apply on the soccer field? what happens with the players ethics when they are off-field? It seems that in a game of soccer, winning at all cost has superseded ethics and sportsmanship. Imagine what would have happened if the goalkeeper had done the right thing and admitted that it was a goal. Wouldn't that have been a more honorable thing to do. I mean the fact that replays prove that it was a goal should undermine his reputation as a sportsman. However, this is not the case in soccer. In fact, quite the opposite. I guess in the end it's all about entertaining the masses and as long as people enjoy controversy then soccer players will continue to cheat.