After vowing to clamp down on gamesmanship before the start of the
tournament, FIFA surely had no option than to punish the actions of the most naturally
gifted player of his generation.
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| Rivaldo clutches his face and chest in 'agony'
after being struck by the ball on the legs (Allsport) |
There is no doubt that Brazilian Rivaldo is a footballing genius but there is no place
on the world's finest stage for blatant cheating as he displayed in the closing seconds
against Turkey.
In short, his Oscar-winning performance was disgraceful and football's world governing
body had to be seen to take action and ensure he became the first victim of the clampdown.
Unfortunately, the basic fine of 10,000 Swiss francs with 1,500 Swiss francs in
expenses - making a total of just over £5,000 - wasn't accompanied by a one match ban.
However, at least it was considerably higher than the standard £1,000 - equivalent of
a minute's wages - which was initially being considered.
Officials examining video footage clearly saw the Barcelona player falling to the
ground and clutching his face after being struck on the knee by a ball kicked by Hakan
Unsal.
The actions of the former World Player of the Year prompted Kim Young-joo, the South
Korean referee, to show a petulant Unsal a second yellow card.
The Turk deserved to be dismissed but Rivaldo should have gone with him. Gamesmanship
of this nature would certainly not be met with the approval of Brazil's greatest
ambassador, Pele.
Emre, one of the few Turkish players not to take part in his country's silent protest
after the match, described Rivaldo as an 'actor' while Turkey's coach, Senol Gunes,
denounced the referee's entire performance.
Rivaldo said he acted because Unsal's intentions were wrong but owned up after the
match to his own discretion of getting a fellow professional dismissed.
By effectively owning up to cheating, it left Fifa's disciplinary committee with no
alternative than to impose a punishment for ugly gamesmanship.
At the 1994 World Cup, the disciplinary committee suspended Mauro Tassotti, of Italy,
for a serious foul on Luis Enrique, of Spain, that had been missed by the referee.
After receiving worldwide criticism, most vocally from the Spanish and German camps,
there is no doubt Rivaldo's actions won't do him any favours with officials later in the
tournament.
That is a pity as Brazil showed they remain the guardians of the beautiful game with
much of the creativity lavished by the brain and feet of Rivaldo himself.
Gunes got it wrong when he said there was an injustice in the result.
Despite claims that manager Luis Felipe Scolari is more fascinated with aggression and
power, Brazil are as compelling as ever to watch and were simply thrilling against the
Turks, even if the closing stages left a sour taste in the mouth.
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The return of Ronaldo's smile is a welcome gift to the World
Cup.
(Empics) |
It is great to see the wide smile and the old swagger back in the limbs of Ronaldo and,
even with Rivaldo, Juninho and Ronaldinho in the side, there is room for more samba flair
with two flamboyant full backs, Cafu and Roberto Carlos.
When they hit form, there is still no finer sight in world football.
As for Turkey, they continue to make great strides and it is surprising the only
trouble between rival sets of supporters occurred in Berlin - even though the Rivaldo
incident was replayed on giant television screens in the Ulsan Munsu stadium, something
which could provoke trouble with passions running high.
Life seemed to stop in its most crowded city, Istanbul, during the match. Hundreds of
people gathered in Taksim Square to watch the match on a huge screen, but were
disappointed by the fact that it was banned.
Those who were in their offices or on the streets at the time of the game, rushed into
bars with televisions and, because of the great demand, TVs were brought outside and
people watched the play from the streets.
When Turkey took the lead, the only sound was the happy screams of their fans hugging
each other and screaming with joy.
The majority of Turkish people are still happy with the result - they expected a heavy
defeat against Brazil - while the match dominated political party headquarters.
In fact, it marked one of the rare days that football was the main topic in the
political corridors in Turkey, which has been discussing the future of the three-way
coalition government and possible snap polls!