In wake of the tackle on Aaron Ramsey, iSporter Praneet Mhatre shares his views on rough tackling and why it needs to be curbed.
‘The Beautiful Game’ – these three words are capable of explaining the inexplicable. How else do you justify over 700 million people throughout the world taking time out of their busy lives and watching the Football World Cup finals in 2006? How do you explain the famously disciplined Japanese stampeding to take a peek every time David Beckham came out of his hotel room? How does a Diego Maradona get elevated to the stature of God and stay there in spite of his repeated transgressions? Why did Andres Escobar have to pay for an ill-timed own goal with his own life after the ’94 Finals? Football invokes such extreme passions because a nifty step over, a sublime bicycle kick or a physics defying free kick can easily bring out involuntary oohs and aahs from even a totally uninitiated layman.
Ok, I’ll try to keep my emotions in check now and get to the topic! Although I’ve been a Liverpool fan for over 10 years, if I had to pick a match-up that I would enjoy watching the most – it would be Barcelona against Arsenal. These two clubs play Football the way it is meant to be played. It’s an absolute treat to one’s eyes to watch those no looks and back-heels being executed as if there were no defenders trying to stop them! However, it is a difficult art to master and most teams, nowadays, seem to have found a solution to counter such a style of play – play rough and spoil the move even before it develops.
Many would argue that it’s a defender’s right to tackle and that they should be allowed to carry on what they are doing is a no-brainer. I wouldn’t disagree with that. But what I strongly object is what one can call Destructive Football. Anyone new to the term simply needs to watch a game between Arsenal and Bolton from the last couple of seasons. At the risk of sounding biased, I’d say that it looks like a match between artists and thugs. Kolo Toure’s comment back in 2008 after a Bolton game echoes these sentiments - “It is wrong to allow those sorts of challenges in football. If we are going to allow that, you might just as well get in kids off the street because they can make those challenges just the same as anybody else can.” Arsenal have been probably the worst hit of all Premier League teams in this regard.
And the Gunners have been at the receiving end far too often for the whole thing to be just a coincidence. Arsene Wenger’s men are the most fouled team this season. Though Ryan Shawcross’ tackle on Aaron Ramsey brought it all out in the open, the trend was there to be seen by any unbiased follower of the game. Many, including Stoke Boss Tony Pulis, have defended Shawcross saying that the tackle per se wasn’t malicious. But for me, that was the most horrific part of it! Why would a defender go in with such force, in that part of the pitch, when winning or losing that tackle would have hardly made any difference? Had it been a case of a lone striker on the verge of scoring a goal, the intensity of the tackle could at least be justified. But when casual tackles in the middle of the field start putting players out of action for months, we have reasons to worry.
English referees are known to be lenient as compared to those in other European Leagues, and that perhaps makes the Premier League a more engrossing prospect to watch. But strict action must be taken against reckless defenders to curb irresponsible tackling. The Gunners are understandably fuming at Shawcross getting away with a mere three match ban. There must be a major rule change if we expect to avoid more players joining the ranks of Eduardo and Ramsey. Don’t get me wrong here – no one can deny the importance of accurate tackling and resolute defending. I personally have admired a perfectly timed tackle by Paolo Maldini as much as a swift 360 by Zidane. But going in with your eyes closed and feet high, every time there is a ball to be won, is plain dangerous. Unless Football authorities take appropriate measures to curb this menace, ‘The Beautiful Game’ will soon become a misnomer.
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Kunal Ghate
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... It was absolutely horrifying to see a leg breaking injury to Arsenal player all over again! The game is still very beautiful, and yeah Barca vs Arsenal will be a pretty good game to see... but the defenders need to be under strict watch by the officials, its pretty easy for them to make a mistake and ruin someones career... Let us hope Ramsey recovers completely from the injury. |
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