[Goanet] Football Story from Norway
E D’souza writes: "what is the moral of the story? A draw is a win win?" You aren’t the first to wonder. A bit of context might help. Have you ever heard of a football team refusing to accept a penalty awarded them by mistake? Think of all those creative forwards diving right, left and centre to earn a penalty. Next, which footballer in the world protests an erroneous decision that benefits his team? The funny thing was, the protesting player kept complaining till the referee had to send him off for dissent and disrespect for his authority. Imagine being sent off for insisting that an injustice be undone! Once he left the field, his colleague came up, and, of course, shot the penalty wide. Why? Because “it was the right thing to do!” It gets funnier. The opposing team won’t be outdone in fair play. They withdraw one of their players from the match because the other team was playing with just ten. They wanted an even contest, and this, when they were trailing 1-3! And, brother, did fate reward them for their magnanimity? They earned two penalties in the second-half and drew the game 3-3. But now the other team’s penalty misser was unhappy. He kept grumbling about the second penalty which helped the opponents draw the match! The poor referee couldn’t have put it better: "I don't really understand that. First he shoots wide on purpose, then he complains when the other team scores. It's hopeless."
Re: [Goanet] Football Story from Norway
L Fernandes writes: "This is too good a story to not share." Agreed. But what is the moral of the story? A draw is a win win? Sounds more like a story from my AYSO coaching days... "Everybody plays, no matter how skilled or not..." Best Regards, E.
[Goanet] Football Story from Norway
This is too good a story to not share. "A player from the Norwegian fifth tier league was shown a red card after protesting against a penalty awarded to himself. Sandved's Talat Abunima was playing against Ild when he fell to the floor in the penalty area. Yet the 36- year-old claimed afterwards he tripped over his own feet. The referee, Nedzad Munjic, awarded the penalty and originally gave a yellow card to the player for protesting, before, then, sending Abunima off for continuing his argument. Speaking to local newspaper, Sandnesposten, the player said: "I went past an Ild player and then tripped over my own feet. It was unbelievably clumsy of me and when the referee pointed to the spot I felt I had to speak out." However, defending his decision to award two yellow cards, the referee told VG Nett: "It was a clear penalty. The player got it all wrong – I don't think the players know the rules properly. And when I've blown the whistle, I can't change my mind." The drama did not end there. Oyvind Svenning eventually took the spot kick, deliberately missing from 12 yards, claiming it was "the right thing to do". Then, with Sandved leading 3-1, Ild withdrew one player to make the sides even, yet were themselves awarded two penalties late on, converting both to earn a 3-3 draw. "The guy who missed on purpose complained a lot about the penalty that led to the 3-3 goal," the referee later added. "I don't really understand that. First he shoots wide on purpose, then he complains when the other team scores. It's hopeless." Abunima has since had his red card rescinded and is available for selection for Sandved's next game." (http://www.goal.com/en/news/1549/rest-of- europe/2012/05/04/3081029/norwegian-player-sent-off- after-protesting-against-penalty)
