The art of losing

When England won the Ashes in 2005, for the first time since the 1980s, Ricky Ponting hit out at England’s use of substitutes and demanded that the rules be revisited.

On the other side of the ledger, Australia has used the rules to its advantage. Who can forget Trevor Chappell’s infamous use of the rules for his underarm bowling that won the 1981 One-Day International against New Zealand?

Other countries are also guilty of not accepting refereeing decisions. Mention Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal to any England fan and see what happens. 1986 is a long time ago and it may be time to move on. (But just to be clear, Maradona did use his hand!)

These kinds of incidents can be described ad nauseam, at least as far back as Bodyline and probably further. The essential point is that we - media, players and the public - need to accept that referees are fallible and that the rules of a game are what they are. To pretend that either amounts to a conspiracy against Australia or that somehow these things always penalise Australia disproportionately, is simply childish.

The real damage done by the media’s complaints and elite sportspeople like Kewell and Hewitt castigating referees and umpires is the example it sets. It gives the impression that sport is only about winning and that whining and complaining is the only response to losing. It inspires the next generation of sportspeople to think that abusing the referee and the rules is acceptable. We shouldn’t be surprised that children’s sports matches now regularly turn in to punch-ups, which increasingly centre on the referee.

Perhaps a leaf should be taken from another football World Cup story. England won the 1966 World Cup against West Germany (and don’t we know it). Studies of match footage show that England’s third goal did not actually cross the line. Had the correct refereeing decision been made, West Germany may well have won the 1966 World Cup. But when did you last hear a German mention that?