I personally am very much inclined to agree with Gordon Taylor. On this occasion, the FA must stand their ground and persist with the pre-match handshake. It was initially brought in as a gesture of goodwill and the overwhelming majority of players have treated it as such. Only a small number of players, who have the tenacity to think that their own personal issues are bigger than English game, have flouted this ruling.
Although I understand why Anton Ferdinand rejected John Terry’s offer of a handshake, his cold-shoulder towards Ashley Cole deserves no sympathy. If Terry did indeed racially abuse him and then got away with it, Ferdinand is right to feel remorse towards Terry. However, Anton is wrong to believe that he is above the unwritten rules of the game and by snubbing Cole, who was merely supporting his team-mate and friend in court, Ferdinand is letting personal distaste, rather than reason, motivate his decisions.
Similar impulses could lead to other players expressing their dislike for fellow professionals in a similar manner and these personal feuds belong in private and not within the public eye. Any such issues should be resolved the old fashioned way, man-to-man and on the pitch. Hence, I am also appalled by Park Ji-Sung’s actions. Ever since football’s conception, the two captain’s have always shook hands before the game, even if every single player has not. Why on earth then does Park believe he has the right to ignore a mark of sportsmanship that is part of the very fabric of the game? As a captain, he should not be complicit to personal conflict and ought to focus harder on trying to lead his team to victory.
Hence, if the FA were to remove the pre-match handshake, such a measure would send out all the wrong signals. They simply cannot allow media pressure to force their hand, or allow the actions of a small minority of players to dictate the laws of the game. The players themselves have to take more responsibility. Their standing as role models for a generation of youngsters is an extremely powerful position and in order to pass on fundamental sporting values such as fairplay and respect, they must set aside their own personal issues and set a better example. So, in the name of the game and for future generations, next time around, just shake hands for goodness sake…
Please comment below and follow me on Twitter: @Benno_Watts22
Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.
John Terry at last was found innocent in court but there is still the fa case against him. respect is earned!! anton no doubt would have had respect prior to this. key points are:-
– terry should have opened up to anton to say he said something stupid and apologised.
– other mutual friends could have helped.
– police case should not have been purposely delayed. terry was in effect guilty until innocent at that point.
– fa should of had their hearing well before the game.
– the snub of cole was not right but we have no idea of what has/has not gone on in the background.
remember our olympic athletes before the war and footballers having to do hitler salutes. respect is earned and once lost takes time. maybe in a few years they will shake hands. terry is a determined character who like many young men has shown errors of judgement in trying to preserve his image. we know he is not a racist but sometimes in the heat we say stupid things.
Reading this article I didn’t realise that
Wayne Bridge had actually married the person
in this broil. Also I had read previously that
Wayne had a child with her as a single parent.
Wht has this new article stated differently???
I didn’t know this new written rule was one of the ‘unwritten rules of football.’ Here’s some unwritten rule of men that you might not know, you don’t shake hands with men you don’t respect (otherwise ya know it becomes meaningless) and you stand by your friends and teammates. Man up writer this is football and they are men.
What a load of rubbish. Why on earth would you shake hands with someone you believed had abused you in some ways. The respect campaign is also backed by the kick racism out of footbnall campaign. To force Ferdinand to shake hands with an accused racist would make the whole respect campaign a total contradiction. Terry is scum, plain and simple and deserves no respect for how he carries himself.