Civility and Soccer

I waited to write this final post about the 2006 World Cup until I had a chance to meet with Professor P. M. Forni at Johns Hopkins University. Professor Forni has become a leading authority on the topic of civility. I submitted to him that this World Cup, more than any before it, was defined by the issue of civility.

France played cautiously versus Portugal in their semi-final encounter. Perhaps they were saving energy; perhaps they were aware that Portugal would spend more effort diving, faking injuries and acting rather than trying to score an equalizer. By this point, it seemed, the referees were all too familiar with Portugese antics. Scolari only sealed Portugal's place from as the least civil team when he chose to berate the referees at the end of the match, rather than focus on his players, the other players, the fans...No moment defined Portugal's "performance" more than one of Christiano Ronaldo's dives during this game. At the edge of the box, he launched himself into one of his numerous dives. Anyone who's played soccer knows that if you're really tripped, your first thoughts rest upon getting your bearings, putting your hands out, bracing yourself, etc. Since Ronaldo initiated his own fall, he had the opportunity to stare longingly at the referee, appealing for a foul or penalty even before he hit the ground.

His dive may have appeared swanlike, but it definitely reflected an ugly duckling.

He has some interesting times ahead. Let's hope he concentrates his efforts on bolstering his considerable gifts as a soccer player and not taking lessons to augment his less than considerable acting skills.

As Portugal continued its uncivil ways in the third-fourth place match against Germany, France played more passionately during the final with Italy. Materazzi did not deserve to be penalized in the box, and Zidane's cheeky spot kick nearly cost him. These two men would become intertwined in a most memorable--and unfortunate--way. France did play better overall, and while Italy had its opportunities, they did resort to the defensive-minded play of previous days. But all of these considerations would be lost for a few minutes of madness.

I was watching the finals in London at a student cafeteria at Imperial College in London. Everyone in the room gasped and then fell into silence as we watched Zidane head butt Materazzi. Even now, we do not know what Materazzi said, but we know that Zidane reacted in a most inappropriate manner.

Zidane has apologized--sort of. While he stated that he was sorry for the children who witnessed his act, he went to assert that if he hadn't acted in this manner, whatever Materazzi said would have been validated. So much for turning the other cheek. Materazzi, even if he did not use the vile type of insult insinuated by Zidane's statements, certainly tried to inflame him. Materazzi has apparently been involved in similar incidents before.

Perhaps even more bizarre than the incident itself is the fact that Zidane won the Golden Ball award (FIFA needs to let people vote until the day after the finals), and that the French have applauded and celebrated him. It's understandable that they wish to honor his legendary career, but it almost seems as if they're saying it's OK to head butt someone as long as you're an exceptional soccer player. When David Beckham received his red card in the 1998 World Cup, even Manchester United fans gave him a hard time (at least for a brief time). Soccer laurels--individual, club, and national--may be enough for the French to forgive Zidane, but they are obviously insufficient to exorcise Zidane's inner demons.

In a fundamental way, this head butt incident reflects the 2006 World Cup. Zidane played so elegantly at times, reminded us of greater glory days of soccer, but he also showed the very nasty side of soccer. With so much at stake, it's perhaps surprising that we don't see even more uncivil behavior.

Franz Beckenbauer has called for a summit to identify ways to remedy the diving, shirt tugging, injury faking, name calling, head butting, and racism that is present in soccer. And there's good reason to do so beyond generating more goals. But it's worth noting that the fans try to introduce their own brand of judgment. Christiano Ronaldo was booed passionately each time he touched the ball in latter games. The fans whistle and jeer when teams play negatively, and criticize managers adopt defensive tactics. It seems that at least some fans still expect a beautiful game, played with a gentleman's code of conduct.

And then there are the Germans. The Italians are probably still celebrating in the eternal city, but the Germans were the real winners during this World Cup. They proved to be the best examples of civility, both on and off the pitch.