Not Pompey related, but football related. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19585259 A question of ethics: If Anton Ferdinand refuses to shake hands with John Terry or Ashley Cole, should he be booked for ungentlemanly conduct?
This has now gone too far, its too out of control and getting quite frankly ridiculous. Terry is innocent (according to the courts, but anyone with an ounce of common sense can see right through that). Cole is a little slimeball also - ask any of the staff at a local hotel (can't be named for confidential reason, but his suppossed wife was also staying the night in the same hotel and Mr Cole was what I would call "innappropriate"). This whole situation just needs to be resolved by the FA - but they are all too scared to be honest and open and don't want to step on anyones toes. This whole this is stupid. It needed to be nipped in the bud after it all happened, not months and months later.
I heard the handshakes are being called off- the same as they were for last season's second match after the infamous incident in the first game last October. Different websites are saying different things .. I expect the beeb to be correct though! In my opinion, it's better calling off the handshake, as if it does go ahead, I can almost guarantee you something will happen. For starters, Anton Ferdinand will not shake John Terry's hand ever again; and I don't think he'll want to with Ashley Cole either. I'm sure his players will back him as well- look at what players for Liverpool/Man Unt did last season, with the Evra- Suarez incident. In the end, Suarez hardly shook anyone's hand, after Evra, Ferdinand, Welbeck and De Gea all snubbed him- and their may have been more. In fairness- they're all greedy, fame-chasing, wife-cheating scum- and the sooner they're out the game the better. They should learn from Giggs, Scholes, Gary/Phil Neville, Lampard, Gerrard, Del Piero, Raul, Klose e.t.c about how to be a role model. For many of them, they are the kid's idols if they support the club, i.e Suarez, Terry e.t.c, so they should act, at least on the pitch, to accommodate that. Although, i doubt they will ..
Anton Ferdinand said today he will not shake either John or Ashley's hand: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/john-terry-racism-row-terry-1323188
Hmm - Steven Gerrard a role model - in court for assault at a nightclub. Yeah, right. And Giggs has blotted his copybook somewhat recently. As for John Terry, to paraphrase Oscar Wilde, to have one person refuse to shake your hand (Wayne Bridge) is unfortunate, to have two is very careless - and quite frankly Terry couldn't care less.
Well, Gerrard's still a better role-model than Joey Barton And Terry doesn't want to be seen backing out of this game- despite being an injury doubt, the Sun claim he's pleading with Roberto di Matteo to play against QPR, and not be seen reluctant to play against Ferdinand.
Damn right, or they should learn from Britain's Olympic and Paralympic athletes. One Jessica Ennis or Bradley Wiggins or Ellie Symmonds or Jonnie Peacock are each worth more than a thousand John Terrys or Ashley Coles.
He was found Not Guilty, which isn't quite the same thing. On topic, they should all man up and do it. Show the world that they can act like grown-ups and put this behind them.
In fairness- they're all greedy, fame-chasing, wife-cheating scum- and the sooner they're out the game the better. They should learn from Giggs, Scholes, Gary/Phil Neville, _________________________________________________________________________________ Giggs, the guy who was banging his brothers mrs for years. Hmm, might call fred west up, see if he can't watch the kids for a bit while I nip out.
Well, even combined, they won't be as bad as Barton. French football fans are in for a shock when they see him play for Marseille!
TBH I'd rather they did away with the pre-match handshake - that should be captains only at the toss - would far rather football adopted Rugby Unions approach of ending the game respectful hugs and handshakes and then the losing team lining up to applaud the winning team back down the tunnel.....rugby players go at it hammer and tongs for 80 minutes but are total sportsmen at the end....football could learn from their sporting behaviour, too often the impression one is left with is the whining & moaning somewhat petulant show that too many players exhibit.
My prediction was correct. Ferdinand didn't shake Terry or Cole's hand. Watch it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19611669
If Anton Ferdinand feels so strongly about racism I'm surprised that he hasn't take a higher profile and sought to address this issue outside the field of football. To my knowledge, I don't think that he has really done anything to draw the attention to racism other than in the sport. I've not heard him address the issue of racism againt Asian players which is still broadly where it was with black players in the 1970's. This was an opportunity to redress some genuine injustices yet the whole exercise to me seems as much a class of personalities as opposed to a genuine campaign to rectify the disgraceful rascism which still exists. I feel that this is a missed opportunity and perhaps brings discredit on more deserving instances which have failed to have been tackled such as the predjudice against Asian players. I am disappointed that the FA never censored Terry as much as they should but I think it is worthwhile noting that many of the protagonists in these recent events are particularly admirable. I'm not a fan of Terry, Cole or the two Ferdinands as individuals and none are particularly worthy as role models. For me, the most significant development in sport which showed football up for what it was was the behaviour of the sportsmen in the Olympics where, with the exception of the Algerian runner and the Korean table tennis team, the competitors held themselves with dignity and respect. I feel these sportsmen defined what sport is about and were all "sporting " in their behaviour. This accounted for the popularity of the likes of Usain Bolt, Jessica Ennis, Mo Farrah, etc, etc as they not only provided brilliant entertainment but did so in the spirit of the competition. In comparion, the likes of Terry, Barton, et al are a disgrace. Sometimes I think that footballers need to look back to the "Cornithian ideals " and reflect upon why football is being played in the first place. Time for many footballers to start acting like sportsmen.
I suppose the fact that Bolt doesn't have his vest pulled back at the start of a race, and Ennis doesn't receive a two footed tackle as she approaches the long jump pit, might have something to do with it. Football is more about controlling the necessary aggression within acceptable limits, than merely concentrating on one's own performance, a la Bolt and co. I think the comparison with Rugby is more damning! Having said that, the fact that rugger types get to indulge in a bit of "argy-bargy" (or unacceptable thuggery and violence, in football jargon) and are still allowed to actually tackle, may help them to let off steam and let bygones be bygones at the end.
I agree, we are slightly harsh on footballers. I wonder how they would cope, having to perform every four days, as opposed to every four years. Footballers are constantly in the spotlight, so surely they'll mess up occasionally. Athletes only have to be good for two weeks every four years- and remember, when was the last "footballer on drugs" case ?? It seems to happen to a lot of athletes every Olympics, so in that perspective they're no better ..
Athletes don't have to perform just once every four years, to even qualify for the Olympics, depending on the sport you you need to do well consistantly in the four years preceeding the Olympics, you've got to perform at World Championships, European Championships, etc. For a lot of sports you have to rank in a certain place or win a particular tournament to qualify for the Olympics. Also, while doing drugs is blatant cheating and definitely wrong, you can't compare it to sleeping with your team-mates wives. What about sports like Hockey then? They're sports with a certain degree of aggression and the risk of fouls and serious injuries and people will probably hit you with the stick inadvertently. I saw GB v Japan and there were several nasty injuries, but it wasn't violent, it wasn't fiery or anything, it was competed in in just the same spirit as track athletes like Hussain Bolt and Jessica Ennis.
