#unsporting

The cricketing world has again gone wild when the news surfaced that India has formally complained that Jimmy Anderson of England had physically pushed Ravindra Jadeja when the players were walking off towards the pavilion during the lunch break. As this apparently happened in the pavilion tunnel and outside the purview of the television camera’s, there is a lot of conjecture and speculation…

Ever since Cristiano Ronaldo made the famous switch to Madrid, the El Clasico has had an expected increase in viewership and rivalry. Arguably the two best players in the sport right now, it doesn’t really get much bigger than this. El Clasico... Real Madrid vs Barcelona FC... Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo... 10 vs 7...

Except, it’s not.

The Clasico, as far as Messi and Ronaldo are concerned, have become about Cristiano’s inability to be a big match player (read: Clasico = big match). As far as Messi is concerned, although he certainly dispels that theory about him, it is the brutal treatment he receives that is the subject of my rant today.

I am, of course, primarily talking about Pepe’s stamp on Messi’s hand. What was that about? Mr. Scissor Legs can’t take the legs of the Argentinean wizard, so his fingers are the next best, is it? Before going into an attempt at understanding the strange mind of the Portuguese delinquent, what I want to know is – Is This why the Clasico is such a big deal? Do the Madridista Like watching a player with such ability and humility, being mauled, kicked, punched, and tackled by Pepe and his ilk? Why, seeing some pictures of Diarra tacking Messi makes them look more at home on a rugby pitch than a football ground.

Diarra rugby tackles Messi

I am not for one second willing to buy the pathetic excuse offered by Pepe. ‘I didn’t do it intentionally’. Even worse is the apology Madrid proffered. It basically said, ‘This is one of those one-off incidents of which one can’t do much’. We know Pepe’s history; we know this was anything but one-off. What about the incident with Getafe’s Francisco Casquero? The tackles on Fabregas, the tackle on Alves (albeit a highly controversial one, what with Alves’ propensity to dive) are enough to prove that this is a player who needs to be dealt with severely, and soon.

It also brings to light a rather disturbing fact – the governing bodies are helpless when they are up against players of high caliber, playing for powerful teams. I don’t think a Sporting Gijon player, for example, would be let off so easily if he had dared to run roughshod over Messi like that. I honestly feel that the repercussions in that case would be far more severe. Messi is young, agile and his body is able to bear these tackles. Or he’s been lucky till now. Either way, we all know it takes only one tackle to end someone’s career. When Roy Keane did it, and ended a career, they all cried ‘foul’, and rightly so. Are we supposed to wait for Pepe to end Messi’s?

'This is how it is, Leo.'

There is a reason I’m being so specific. From what I noticed when I watched the Clasicos (and I only started watching them three years ago), Madrid have basically tried and failed in all the tactics they’ve applied. Parking bus, fail. Counter, fail. Possession, initially successful, ultimately fail. So they resort to what is seemingly their last hope – take Messi out.

This destroys the entire fun of watching the match… well at least for me. It’s no good wincing and yelping fifty times in a match. There are less ‘oooohs’ and ‘aaaahs’ and more ‘aaarrghhhs’ and ‘sssssss-es’ while watching the fixture. Why? I understand the desperation to win the title, to win the fixture, but surely a line needs to be drawn?

I don’t really follow the Spanish league, insofar as to watch every match. I know for a fact though, that if Pepe has the guts to bully Messi, imagine the treatment lesser players in lesser teams will be receiving. They stand powerless in front of names such as Ronaldo, Casillas, Kaka and the others. Pepe could well bring a dagger into the field; he’d probably get a ten match ban for that.  Justice? I think not.

Every player watches the match replays. Once, twice, maybe more. Do they not see what Pepe is doing? How self-involved are they to not say a word to him about it? And if they are doing their bit, Pepe is incorrigible, and such lack of character should be suitably punished. Again, we don’t really know what goes on back there. Do they share music on the bus? Are they territorial about armrests too? I don’t know, We don’t know. But we don’t Care.