Why on earth should television dictate football (or sport in general)? Yes, television advertising provides the majority of money that is in sport and as a result, I can accept a few extra advert breaks in my Ford Super Sundays or NFL Monday Night Football. However what I wont accept is television dictating incidents in the sport itself.
I have to be clear regarding this topic because the intervention of television in football can provide a positive outcome. For instance, catching an off the ball incident or a mistake made by a referee can help to improve the fairness of the game. However, there are some instances when television has done the opposite.
On April 2nd of this year, Manchester United faced West Ham at Upton Park. After being down 2-0 at half time, United fought back and, thanks to a Wayne Rooney hat-trick, took all 3 points in a 4-2 victory. After tucking away a penalty that gave United their 3-2 lead and Rooney his third of the day, the United star ran towards the fans to celebrate before turning to a TV camera and swearing into it.
For days following the incident, Rooney was hounded by press and media despite apologising for the incident and the FA saw fit to ban Rooney for two games, including the FA Cup semi-final against Man City. But why?
Had Rooney spouted any language that you wouldn't normally overhear at a football game? No. Had he committed an infringement of the games rules? No.
Personally, I have absolutely no problem with Rooney doing what he did and I think had the public and the media not been so outraged, the FA would never have intervened in the situation. Rooney missed one of United's most important games of the season because of the public fascination with setting up celebrities to fall from grace (although Rooney had never been one to be considered the graceful type).
SkySports have spent vast amounts of money bringing the nations sport into the homes and pubs of millions, but if they insist on showing football and trying to cover every aspect of the game, they must accept what comes with the game, warts and all. Rooney on April 2nd was a frustrated player. Having had a poor season by his standards up to that point the press and media had been very critical of the young Liverpudlian and had held very little back when discussing his poor form over the last 5 months. Coming back from 2-0 down at half time is an achievement in itself but to grab the 3 goals yourself would get the adrenalin pumping in even the most level headed of men.
When the TV camera decided to become part of that celebration by getting into the face of Rooney his reaction was a release of frustration and passion, having just turned what looked like a game lost into 3 points for the soon to be champions.
I'm not saying I would have used the same expressions that Rooney barked out, but I think it would have been foolish to assume that a young hothead (which we already know Rooney is) would be able to hold his tongue during such a moment.
Sky's actions of broadcasting Rooney's voice at that moment could arguably cost United an FA Cup and there is no reason why it should have. If Sky want to show the sport and bring it into peoples homes in its raw uncensored form, it's their responsibility to warn viewers and apologise to the audience for what they choose to broadcast, including what the players say.
Others will argue that Rooney chose to swear at the camera but to them I say this: Do you really think he wouldn't have used foul language had a camera not been there?
The answer to this is, of course, no. Yet Rooney faced the wrath of the FA and was banned for two games despite having not broken a rule of the game. He did not direct his abusive language to a referee or player, nor *was he violent in anyway. The closest offence he came to committing was using foul language before the watershed, a rule which, as far as I was aware, the FA had any control over.
This to me is a incident where had Sky been smart enough to turn off the audio on that camera, Rooney would never have been banned. In my opinion, this shows that television is starting to over step its boundaries when it comes to controlling the game and sport in general, and I hope its something that isn't repeated again in my lifetime.
I have to be clear regarding this topic because the intervention of television in football can provide a positive outcome. For instance, catching an off the ball incident or a mistake made by a referee can help to improve the fairness of the game. However, there are some instances when television has done the opposite.
On April 2nd of this year, Manchester United faced West Ham at Upton Park. After being down 2-0 at half time, United fought back and, thanks to a Wayne Rooney hat-trick, took all 3 points in a 4-2 victory. After tucking away a penalty that gave United their 3-2 lead and Rooney his third of the day, the United star ran towards the fans to celebrate before turning to a TV camera and swearing into it.
For days following the incident, Rooney was hounded by press and media despite apologising for the incident and the FA saw fit to ban Rooney for two games, including the FA Cup semi-final against Man City. But why?
Had Rooney spouted any language that you wouldn't normally overhear at a football game? No. Had he committed an infringement of the games rules? No.
Personally, I have absolutely no problem with Rooney doing what he did and I think had the public and the media not been so outraged, the FA would never have intervened in the situation. Rooney missed one of United's most important games of the season because of the public fascination with setting up celebrities to fall from grace (although Rooney had never been one to be considered the graceful type).
SkySports have spent vast amounts of money bringing the nations sport into the homes and pubs of millions, but if they insist on showing football and trying to cover every aspect of the game, they must accept what comes with the game, warts and all. Rooney on April 2nd was a frustrated player. Having had a poor season by his standards up to that point the press and media had been very critical of the young Liverpudlian and had held very little back when discussing his poor form over the last 5 months. Coming back from 2-0 down at half time is an achievement in itself but to grab the 3 goals yourself would get the adrenalin pumping in even the most level headed of men.
When the TV camera decided to become part of that celebration by getting into the face of Rooney his reaction was a release of frustration and passion, having just turned what looked like a game lost into 3 points for the soon to be champions.
I'm not saying I would have used the same expressions that Rooney barked out, but I think it would have been foolish to assume that a young hothead (which we already know Rooney is) would be able to hold his tongue during such a moment.
Sky's actions of broadcasting Rooney's voice at that moment could arguably cost United an FA Cup and there is no reason why it should have. If Sky want to show the sport and bring it into peoples homes in its raw uncensored form, it's their responsibility to warn viewers and apologise to the audience for what they choose to broadcast, including what the players say.
Others will argue that Rooney chose to swear at the camera but to them I say this: Do you really think he wouldn't have used foul language had a camera not been there?
The answer to this is, of course, no. Yet Rooney faced the wrath of the FA and was banned for two games despite having not broken a rule of the game. He did not direct his abusive language to a referee or player, nor *was he violent in anyway. The closest offence he came to committing was using foul language before the watershed, a rule which, as far as I was aware, the FA had any control over.
This to me is a incident where had Sky been smart enough to turn off the audio on that camera, Rooney would never have been banned. In my opinion, this shows that television is starting to over step its boundaries when it comes to controlling the game and sport in general, and I hope its something that isn't repeated again in my lifetime.
No comments:
Post a Comment