ONE of those oft-repeated sayings of debatable origin states that ‘rugby is a rogue’s game played by gentlemen; football (soccer) is a gentleman’s game played by rogues’.
Regardless of who made the original quote, its origins go back to class distinctions in England, and the saying is not true of this century.
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Well…unless you count Diego Maradona’s sneaking ‘hand of God’ goal in the 1986 FIFA World Cup – or bribed referees, betting scandals, match fixing, diving, drugs, cry-babies, spitting, biting, fan fights, pitch invasions, fake injury dramatics and racism.
Other than that – and I am an avid soccer fan – it remains the beautiful game.
But it certainly is a strange game at the moment, as leagues around the world slowly get back in motion during the Covid-19 crisis.
Playing to empty stadiums – or stadia, for the finicky – is somewhat weird.
There’s a lot of debate about how the absence of fans affects the players.
Most commentators believe once the game commences, the combatants are so focused that they don’t even miss the normal crowd influence.
I don’t believe that for a moment.
For a start, imagine an away game to Liverpool, where thousands of reds at the Kop make the gentle strains of ‘You’ll never walk alone’ sound like a mafia death threat.
Who would be intimidated in present times, when it is sung by the gaffer, a caretaker and the assistant manager?
Referees could be the biggest beneficiaries of empty seats, with nobody there to scream for penalties or advise him concerning his lineage on his mother’s side.
Now the men with the whistle can make mistakes without the assistance of biased fans baying for blood.
Certainly the unhappiest people in the current crisis are the sponsors and ticket holders, who have paid loads of money and are getting nothing back in return.
And with no clicking turnstyles, the smaller clubs, especially, are counting their losses.
But there’s something worse than empty stadiums…and it is right here where we live.
It’s a stadium that is steadily falling apart and poses a health and safety risk to players and staff.
I was privileged to sit on the planning committee when the uMhlathuze Stadium dream became a reality.
Those were heady days as we prepared to host Nigeria for the 2010 World Cup.
The stadium was our pride and joy, especially the lush turf that was described as the best in the country.
It remains a fine field; but the building itself is appalling, as a visit after any reasonable amount of rain will confirm.
Water cascades downward from the roof through the porous concrete seating, down walls and into electric lights and plugs – and even into the power mains box itself.
Players stand on change room benches to avoid the ankle deep water on the dressing room floors.
The PSL authorities warned a year ago that matches may have to be forfeited unless urgent repairs were done.
They haven’t been, and that threat still hangs above us like the Sword of Damocles.
But the loss of three points will be insignificant compared with the loss of a life.
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