Cricket has long been used as a symbolic representation of the values of fair play, something of an English obsession. It is interesting then that the sport which is chosen to epitomise these values was invented by the English but popularised throughout the then 'barbaric' world on the back of colonialism and the British empire. No prizes for spotting the contradiction here. The legacy of English and indeed Christian morality is caked in the blood of foreigners. So perhaps our national obsession with fairness and good conduct in sport needs a second look.
'The Empire' is not something that is celebrated these days, and it’s all too obvious to those who know anything about it, that it really doesn’t fit with our updated national self-image. And so in the years since Queen Elizabeth II publicly apologised for the “international crime of colonialism” we can perhaps for the first time, with a semi-clean conscience, enjoy a sporting event that came about because of it; Test cricket, The Ashes and a heroic victory for England.
“Our history of cheats is as glorious as any nation on earth”
So what's an Arsenal fan to think in the aftermath of Croatia's 5-1 drubbing by England? Well John Terry can talk whiter than white if he likes, and he can bask in the reflected morality of the England Cricketers all he wants, but for me there is no disguising a latent racism, along with a pompous, outdated and pious belief that the English are somehow moral guardians over the game of football. I for one celebrated Eduardo’s goal against England. Why? Well it's simple. Implied in all the tripe that that has been talked about the incident is the idea that a player is answerable to some higher moral cause and will in his mind feel the guilt of what he has done. This is a ridiculous implication. The game of football is a game of rules, and referees are there to make sure those rules are adhered to. Eduardo should have been booked, if the ref is not quick enough to spot trickery then we should have video refs, simple. But what is this notion about the player having to act in accordance with some higher moral sensibility? The flatulence spoken by the pundits on this subject is enough to test the patriotism of any man, but when you take in to account that being an Arsenal fan means that you support a team who regularly come under attack for fielding no English players, despite the club being situated in the heart of one of the most multicultural cities on earth, well its hard to find reasons to care about “England” and as it happens I’ve heard nobody offer a peep of complaint about the dubious umpiring decisions that helped England bring the Ashes home. “I say, rotten decision that! Bad luck old boy, still all’s fair in love and war”.
|