Soccer – don’t let the grass trip you

I enjoy sitting down to 90+ minutes of world cup games every four years when the Socceroos make it but the game has that elephant in the room problem everytime. You know already what I am taking about, diving, faking, acting, whatever you call it, it ruins the game.
I am proud to see that the 'roos don't take part in the pond scum tactics of the majority of teams. They play with typical Australian values, fair play, team work and honesty. But so many players resort to acting in an attempt to divert the course of play in their favour. Clubs, coaches and fans turn a blind eye to it and the referees are simply...blind. I cannot fathom the enormity of this 'world' game when at it's heart it is a test of Oscar acting that ultimately decides the winner, or there is also that pathetic ending with a penalty shoot out.
Soccer is a sport that was designed to control the ignorant masses. Chess keeps nerds in chairs and out of harms way, and hooligans and degenerates have soccer to allow them to fight in stadiums. These wars, and I mean real wars, are wagered in the stands and occasionally a game is played on the pitch. Although with the amount of fighting, flares and thrown chairs I hardly doubt anyone watches the 95% of the game that is a glorified version of piggy in the middle.
I recently read a blog depicting Australian rules football in the same ilk as soccer when it comes to acting for a free kick. If only that blogger accepted comments, these words would be on his site not mine. His main reference was to Collingwood player Shane Wakelin taking a dive when Sydney player Barry Hall threw an attempted punch. Shane did take a dive however he is from Collingwood and it was one of a handful of dives seen all year. Soccer sees more acting in one match than AFL would have in a season. Chalk and cheese would make more sense than that argument.
Soccer is known as the 'world game' yet it's own foundation ignores the plight of normalcy that most sports thrive on. I refer to the human condition surrounding winning fairly. Sport requires skill, team work or individual prowess and it's players need to uphold those values or the game will be fundamentally flawed as with soccer.
Remove acting, add another referee, change the game to allow more scoring and you might earn that 'world game' title. Possibly the world cup host nation bribes issue might do with a look in too.