EVERY week we witness the same masquerade in which unqualified journalists and their distinguished guests disguised as modern Messiahs mete out justice by commenting on football games and referees’ decisions. Referees are usually dismissed as inadequate and deliberately biased. In all these discussions the referees are treated as if they are not part of the game, as if they are dispensable foreign bodies. The discussions usually end with earnest and heartfelt wishes for better sportsmanship and the eradication of violence.
The violence inside and outside our sports stadiums is intimately related to our own attitudes towards sports. The sport world’s dilettantes, who highlight the mistakes of the referees while entirely disregarding the attitude of the team towards the umpires, are usually the very same connoisseurs who are invited to discuss possible solutions to the violence.
Sportsmanship is an attitude of respect by and towards all the people involved in the sport, including teammates, opponents, coaches, spectators – and umpires. It means being a gracious winner and a good loser. Unfortunately, most of our sports in Cyprus are blatantly devoid of sportsmanship, particularly the most popular ones. Even at school level verbal and physical aggression towards opponents and umpires is not uncommon.
Certainly, Cyprus is no an exception regarding the lack of sportsmanship, yet the extent to which it has pervaded our sports is staggering. Here, being a bad sport is trendy and cool; it shows toughness of character and fearlessness; it shows defiance to authority; it shows commitment to one’s teammates. Nevertheless, we need to remember that as athletes and people involved in sports from other positions, it is our attitudes towards sports that can either encourage respect, fairness, and self-control or disrespect, aggression and brutality in the spectators. Therefore, fostering sportsmanship involves everyone involved in sports, from coaches to athletes from parents to spectators.
Understanding umpire’s role, in my opinion, is critical to fostering healthier attitudes towards sports. We all need to recognise their indispensable role in all levels of competition. Moreover, we need to appreciate that, similar to players, they are human and thus bound to make errors. It is certainly frustrating when our team’s efforts are undermined by faulty referee decisions, yet we need to understand that it is important to voice our disagreement respectfully. Instead of attributing these inevitable errors to ulterior motives, we should accept them as part of the game in the same way we accept our team’s players’ mistakes as inadvertent.
If we succeed in inculcating an appreciation for the human aspect that is entailed in the role of the umpires, then we are certainly promoting healthier attitudes towards sports. One obvious way of doing this is for schools to integrate in their Physical Education programmes, lessons on rules of sports – both theoretical and practical – so that students can experience personally what it is like to referee. Such lessons would ensure youngsters understood first hand the difficulties involved in making split-second decisions and thus, the inevitability of human error.
It is also essential to review our outlook towards opponents and teammates. We should treat them with respect. For example, as parents watching our children playing sports, we should set a good example by congratulating the players and parents of both teams. It is vital for coaches to congratulate the coaches of the other teams as well as the players. During the game, coaches should be the first to applaud a laudable effort regardless of the team, while also being the first to condemn any hostility by players towards umpires or other players.
How many times have we seen coaches of youth teams screaming their lungs out at their miniature-size players for a mistake they made, or swearing at a referee for an allegedly wrong decision? Apart from the obvious possibility of traumatising the children, such attitudes only encourage exceedingly aggressive attitudes towards sports. Losing is definitely hard to accept, especially when a lot is at stake – which is true for sports at the national level but entirely untrue for competitions between children’s academies – nevertheless, in spite of the importance of a game, it is still possible to lose gracefully. The game of rugby is an example at hand. Rugby players demonstrate exemplary attitudes both towards the umpires as well as towards their opponents. If athletes involved in the most physical team sport can do it why not the rest of the athletes?
Our stadiums are becoming increasingly more aggressive. While the lack of sportsmanship may not be the primary cause for this aggression, it still plays a vital role. It is in our hands, from any position that we are involved in sports to encourage and promote healthier attitudes towards sports, and we can start by reminding ourselves and those around us that at the end of the day, what we are watching is only game and nothing but a game.
