QUOTE(verx @ Nov 26 2010, 11:40 AM)
Apples and oranges Duke. Unlike the example you cited we have not hurt anyone in doing what we did except for maybe making UEFA look like fools. No crime was comitted like your example. Unsportsmanlike? The players are still going to be suspended for a game even if it is a deadwood one. Players pick up intentional yellows all the time. Should FIFA and UEFA charge every single one of them for unsporting conduct then? It's ridiculous in my book given that there are far worse unsporting behaviors going on the pitch. Diving for example.
Let me ask you Duke if the players got sent off by going late into a tackle or by tugging at shirts would you still say its unsportsmanlike since its less conspicuous?
I frown upon diving and simulation as well but I'm not drawing comparisons. Most already know what I think of this and even as a Liverpool fan, I'd admit that Gerrard's poor attempt at a dive for England was pathetic.
I looked up the definition for "sportsmanship".
QUOTE
Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. Being a "good sport" involves being a "good winner" as well as being a "good loser".[1]
Sportsmanship typically is regarded as a component of morality in sport, composed of three related and perhaps overlapping concepts: fair play, sportsmanship and character.[2] Fair play refers to all participants having an equitable chance to pursue victory[3] and acting toward others in an honest, straightforward, and a firm and dignified manner even when others do not play fairly. It includes respect for others including team members, opponents, and officials.
Before I go on I must ask, did Mourinho deny asking Ramos and Alonso to get booked intentionally? If he did, it's not very honest because it's clear as day what his intention was. If he didn't then forget about this sentence.
From what I understand, both players deliberately got yellow cards so they would miss a meaningless game and return for the knockout stage. They intentionally committed an offence to give themselves an advantage in the next round. Ethical? Respectful of the rules and officials? You've just said it made UEFA look like fools. For what it's worth, I don't think exploiting loopholes in the system is punishable. I mean it's the duty of those who make those rules to ensure there are no loose ends. The Korean badminton team fielded a weakened side in the recent Thomas Cup because they did not want to finish top and have to face China and they weren't punished. However in my opinion, it is unsportsmanlike.
To answer your question any infringement or exploitation of the rules to give yourself and advantage is unsportsmanlike, whether it be a dive, time wasting or whatever. Of course the former is harder to pick on because it is as you say, less conspicous.
My opinion is all.
Added on November 26, 2010, 3:17 pmQUOTE(Wan @ Nov 26 2010, 12:21 PM)
I see nothing wrong in what Real do here. It's wrong, morally. But then so is Gerrard's starfish moments, and there's plenty of them. And unlike Gerrard's actions which influence results of games(penalty, free kicks which lead to goals, yellow/red card(s) to opposition's players), the actions that Real players took there didn't influence the match at stake at all. It's about being smart.
Last I checked players get booked for diving as well.
Real's actions did not affect the game in question but could influence the outcome of their last 16 tie especially if Ramos and Alonso were both suspended for either leg. I'm guessing few would disagree that the team would be marginally weakened at least in their absence?
This post has been edited by Duke Red: Nov 26 2010, 03:17 PM 
Nov 26 2010, 02:16 PM
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