The six rules in football that fans get unnecessarily angry about.
Following Liverpool’s defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League this week, it seems that the major talking point is not the Reds’ deficiencies but rather Mario Balotelli’s audacity to swap his shirt at half time. It’s silly, yes, but not the biggest crime of the century when you think about it, but it got us thinking about what else is considered as an unwritten rule of football, something players must simply avoid at all costs. Here’s what we came up with…
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Mario Balotelli shirt swap reaction.
Don’t swap shirts at half time
The first and most obvious rule, right off the bat, is what Mario failed to grasp. It’s never been a standard practice to swap shirts at the break, as a player’s mind should be on the game and their own performance rather than what souvenirs they can come away with. The first big case of this happening was when Robin Van Persie had just joined Man United and he swapped tops with Gunners flop Andre Santos whilst heading to the dressing room. It’s a sure fire way to get the fans angry and make them believe that your heart is not in the cause.
Don’t celebrate against your former club
Often seen as a show of respect, and though the rationale behind it is generally admirable, fans know how good it feels to score a goal on a Sunday morning in a park, so they must understand how good it feels to bag one in a high pressure game in front of 40,000 people. That doesn’t matter, though, any semblance of emotion other than mild regret and a player can go from hero to villain in less than a minute.
Appreciate your travelling support
England’s abject performances at the World Cup in 2010 are encapsulated perfectly in the 11 second video above. Clearly frustrated, Rooney criticised the equally annoyed fans on national TV and then had to work hard to win their trust back. The same goes for when a team doesn’t go over to their travelling support to applaud them will also earn some ire of their own.
Respect the other team’s national anthem
Sure, we don’t know the words or the meaning and the tune sounds strange, but how often have we heard a country’s national anthem being drowned out by a chorus of boos? It doesn’t seem so bad when it’s on neutral ground, but when the hosts drown out the visitors it comes across as just plain hostile.
Don’t score when a member of the opposition is down injured
This is a big one, and when it does occur it often prompts fiery debate about what’s right and what’s wrong. Perhaps the biggest unwritten rule, and even though everyone knows it, it still manages to raise a healthy round of applause. If it means that mush, then it should be written as an official rule rather to save all the drama.
ALWAYS shake the manager’s hand
There’s a lot of handshaking in football these days, and managers are required to do a lot of it. Before and after the game, the rules of respect and professionalism and blah blah blah. It’s good practice, as most managers know each other and already have pre-existing friendships, so when one goes against the grain and fails to shake hands it causes an almighty roar.
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