There is no doubt that the
biggest talking point so far at this year’s FIFA World Cup is Uruguay’s Luis
Suarez’s alleged biting of the Italian defender Giorgio Chiellin.
Suarez himself denied
biting Chiellin on purpose but alleged that he fell and slammed his teeth on
the defenders shoulder which left a bite mark. He also said that he hurt his
teeth in the process.
The most unfortunate thing
is that this is not the first biting incident in which Suarez has been
involved. In November 2010, during a game between Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, Otman
Bakkal confronted Luis Suarez in a melee, but the Uruguayan learnt over and bit
him on the neck.
The second incident
happened in April 2013 in the game between Liverpool and Chelsea. After
jostling with Ivanovic in the penalty area, Suarez responded by biting the
Serbian defender on the arm. Liverpool fined him for this incident and was
banned for ten games by the Football Association.
The latest incident at the
World Cup brought the wrath of FIFA. Luis
Suarez was slapped with a four month ban on all football activities, a nine
match international suspension and a $112,000 fine.
However, this punishment did
not seem to go so well with Uruguay’s President Jose Mujica. When he was asked on a TV sports show about
his opinion on the World Cup, the President said, “Those at FIFA are a gang of
old sons of bitches.” He then gasped and put his hand on his mouth as if to say
I can’t believe I said that. His wife who was standing near him also added her
feelings. “I support the President’s remarks,” she said.
President Mujica does not
seem to be the only head of state whose daily schedule includes the World Cup.
Ghana’s President John Mahama has demanded that an investigation must be
carried out to determine that country’s dismal performance in Brazil where the
team only managed 1 point and ending their campaign at the bottom of their
group.
Ghana has had trouble in
their camp because of appearance allowances and the investigation may be
centred on that. Two of their star players, midfielders Sulley Munthari and
Kevin-Prince Boateng were expelled from the squad for indiscipline. It is also
known that Ghana players threatened to boycott their game against Portugal if
they did not receive their money. Some reports even indicated that they
boycotted training.
The Ghanaian government
had no option but to send cash money in excess of $3 million in a chartered
plane to Brazil. Ironically, Ghana lost their last game to Portugal and ended
up being ousted out of the World Cup. This must have incensed the government who
are now looking for a payback after being held at ransom over allowances.
On the other hand, as if
to make the Ghanaian players look desperate money lovers, the Greek national team
players have turned down a bonus from their Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, which
was given to them for reaching the knock-out phase for the first time.
“We do not want extra
bonus, or money. We only play for Greece and its people. All we want is for you
to support our efforts to find a land and create a sports centre that will
house our national team.”
What a contrast to
Cameroonian players who prior to the World Cup threatened not to show up in
Brazil over bonus money. While some players value the thrill of playing at the
World Cup and representing their countries, others see the World Cup as a money
making opportunity. Of course a player must get paid because that is where his livelihood
comes from but one cannot help but notice the desperation and greed exhibited
by players, particularly from Africa.
Like his Ghanaian
compatriot, the president of Cameroon Paul Biya has also requested for an
inquiry to find out why the team failed to win a single game at the tournament.
As if this was not enough, Cameroon’s
Football Federation is investigating allegations of match fixing by some of its
players at the World Cup. This is after a convicted fraudster correctly
predicted that they would lose 4-0 and have a man sent off against Croatia.
In case you are wondering,
this FIFA World Cup is not the first one where State Presidents and governments
have been infuriated by the dismal performances of their national teams. In 1974,
Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo) became the second African
country to qualify to the World Cup. They
lost 2-0 to Scotland and were humiliated 9-0 by Yugoslavia before meeting
Brazil in their third game.
During that match, the
referee awarded Brazil a free-kick.
Zaire’s defender Mwepu Ilunga kicked the ball away when Brazil were
preparing to take the free-kick, earning himself a yellow card. Brazil won this
match by 3-0 and the Zairean team came back conceding 14 goals without scoring
any.
Recently, Ilunga (who is
now aged 64) revealed that Zaire’s dismal performance was influenced by a
dispute over bonuses. He said that despite losing 2-0 to Scotland, the team was
happy with its performance. The mood in the team changed when the players
discovered that a bonus owed to them had been intercepted.
Two hours before kick-off,
the team did not want to play until they were threatened that they will be sent
to the dungeons. Ilunga said the reason they lost by such a big margin to
Yugoslavia was because the players sabotaged the match. It is alleged that
President Mobutu sent a message, telling the players that if they lost by more
than five goals to Brazil, they will never be allowed to return to their homes.
“I said to myself: “I’m
not playing anymore. Why would I stay on the field and take the risk of not
returning home when the others – the people who took our money – are watching
us peacefully from the stands?”
He said he seized the
opportunity when Brazil were awarded the free-kick to provoke the referee so that
he could be given a red card. Unfortunately for him, the referee produced a
yellow card and his action only ended up in the records as one of the World
Cups most bizarre incidents alongside Zidane’s head butt and most probably the
Luis Suarez biting incident among others.
With the World Cup in
Brazil still going on and getting even more heated, we may still see more
Presidents getting involved in the drama.
Image courtesy of Salvatore
Vuono freedigitalphotos.net
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