Im sure everyone remembers suarez vs ghana so wont bother posting that. Question is, do you think these kind of fouls are terrible to do, or justified (ie they had to do it for the team)

It's a team foul. I mean looking at the Suarez one vs. Ghana.
It was a sure goal, absolutely. He took one for the team, his own reputation and gave his team a chance to stay in the game and the rest is history.

I think it is easy to sit here and say, no it's bad for the sport. But from a player's perspective you have to admire it, as long as it isn't anything malicious.

#BlameSuarez

Smart move on Kaiser's part, what a smart player, no wonder he wasnt sent off, I suppose..

I don't consider neither of the incidents mentioned as cheating. Bad sportsmanship? Yes. Cheating? No.

If I was in Suarez's or Beckenbauer's position, I would have done the same thing, but its still cheating. Using your hands to grab the ball like that is just ridiculous, alot worse than bad sportsmanship.

I've got no problem with the Solskjaer incident though, its a professional foul

I honestly don't feel that this is cheating. There is a clear penalty for it, everyone knows about it, and they made a benefit calculation that it's worth it regardless. It's different from diving or flopping in that there is no benefit to the team if you get caught in those - you can't possibly include the penalty in a benefit analysis.

I see these situations much like intentional fouls in Basketball. You're trying to the stop the clock, or get a poor FT shooter to the line instead of an easy basket, so you foul them, take your foul or technical and move on. As long as you do it in a non-dangerous manner (there's no excuse for trying to injure someone), I have no issue with it.

There is a punishment for intentionally handling the ball. The player knows it. Just like an american football player that interferes with a receiver that is about to catch a touchdown pass. It's not bad sportsmanship in either case.

I also don't think its cheating, i consider it strategic.

if it wasn't cheating, then ' there wouldn't be rules that penalised it, to begin with. Because players get away with it with a penalty doesn't mean it doesn't amount to "cheating", the penalty is a punishment for the act and of course if you do it deliberately as opposed to being reckless or heat of the moment, then it is obvious people like Suarez are nothing but cheat, who ruined my dreams and the dreams of an entire continent, I hate him more than any player on the surface of this planet, even if we go back in time, there is no one single player I can dislike as much as him, seeing his picture alone get me agitated.


Now lets keep it elementary.


Cheating means: Act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage.


Suarez definitely did that

Matchfixing, throwing etc. and any attempt break the rules covertly is cheating in my book. Doing it blatantly and tactically is just bad sportsmanship in a world without honour anyways - we're not Klingons. Anyone who thinks otherwise of the world is in for a rude awakening.

I don't thinmk it is and i understand why some players could do those actions. especially in the heat of the game .

But still, i don't want to see that too much in our sport

Put yourself in Suarez's shoes if you were in the world cup quarter finals last minutes about to lose the game would you not do it for your country either..?
He got sent off, and Ghana took a penalty if it were considered cheating then Suarez would be banned from the game but all it is a red card because it is part of the game.
The only reason it is a big deal is because Ghana was the last African team in the competition and people just like hating on Suarez.

How is it cheating if your getting punished for it?

it is somewhat cheating the system because in some situations who cares if you are down a man for the rest of the match if that means the opponent is denied a clear goal scoring opportunity and instead have a crappy free kick.

particularly in cases where its the very end of the match and you are either really trying hard to hold on to a win, or keep the draw. and even more vital in cases where these matches have big effects on league or cup titles.

that being said, as someone who used to play CB i have done these types of team fouls on numerous occasions.. maybe not as blatant as the youtube clips but stil..

I get that but that's not really cheating. That's unsportsmanlike...

Cheating is like match fixing, throwing games, diving etc, IMO. I don't see where this might constitute as cheating, especially if you get properly punished for it.

It's a tactical foul, it's a part of the game. It's unsportsmanlike I guess, but you do what you can for the team, and sometimes it looks like this.

Well in those situations normally a redcard or penalty is given so if you think its worth getting taken off and having your team play with a man down and they might be able to score a goal anyway then I guess go for it. They could do the same thing if they want so its fair in that regard

Henry's handball was cheating because he got away with it.
Suarez committed a deliberate handball in the box and Ghana was awarded a penalty plus Suarez was sent off.

Not cheating. Unsportsmanlike? Depends.
If committing a foul like in the second video isn't considered cheating then Suarez's handball shouldn't either.

It's not cheating. He isn't/wasn't deceiving anyone.

Well it's not really cheating if the player gets punished imo.

It's cynical, not cheating

Breaking the rules deliberately to gain an unfair advantage isnt cheating huh? dont know whats going on here, maybe some people need to look up the definition.

Whilst the penalty the cheat is made to pay can sometimes temper the adavantage gained it changes not that they cheated and gained some sort of advantage with their calculated action in the sense they prevented a goal. In many cases the cheats team get off practically scott free, him being sent off is about as usful to the cheated team as a paper kettle. Ask ghana


whether they are justified to do what they do because its in the best interest of their team is debatable, but they are cheats, definately

So long as they get caught and punished appropriately for their crime it's fair. It's not cheating because it's not deceitful, which is a necessary part for it to be considered cheating. Diving is cheating because the player tries to convince the ref that something happened when it didn't. In this case it's open for everyone to see and often without a fight from the players. Also I disagree that it's always calculated. Sometimes it's calculated (both of the videos posted in the OP look calculated to me) but the Suarez incident to me was instinctual.

I too view that handball incident differently from diving, faking injury, fouling, etc.. That can be considered as something like a professional foul or a calculated risk taken in a no other choice situation.. I would have done the same for my team or country if i was in that position...
But i have no doubts, Suarez is a cheater.. Amazing talent.. But only earns haters with his play...