Shock and Awe

The quarterfinals have me stunned.

The roster for the upcoming semi-finals is somewhat to be expected: three of the four teams were top-ranked coming into the tournament. The way that it happened, however, was full of surprises, drama and intense ethical debates.

Friday, I was elated with the Dutch victory over Brazil, and enjoyed every minute of the game. My adrenaline was perhaps too high to handle the Uruguay v. Ghana drama later that day.

Saturday, I could hardly watch as Germany pummeled Argentina. Paraguay and Spain traded frantic penalty kicks. It felt like the ball, the ref's calls, the entire game, could go either way. It wasn't until Spain scored in the final seven minutes that I felt myself begin to calm down.

Eight teams entered the quarterfinal and four teams are left. Ghana, Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay are out. The Netherlands plays Uruguay on Tuesday (July 6) and Germany plays Spain on Wednesday (July 7th). The winners of those games will play the final, championship game on July 11th. Hup Holland!

The major upset is the defeat of Brazil, followed by the destruction of Argentina. What has everyone really disturbed is the handball by Uruguay's Luis Suarez.

In the final minutes of a tied game, a Ghanaian player had a clear shot on an open goal (the keeper was on the ground). Suarez, a Uruguayan defender on the goal-line, reached up and intentionally block the ball from entering the goal--with his hand.

It was an intentional handball in the penalty area. In addition to the ESPN cameras, the referee saw the foul and red-carded Suarez. Ghana was awarded a penalty kick with just seconds left on the clock.

All was right in the universe, until Ghanaian forward Asamoah Gyan missed the penalty kick. Ghana lost in the penalty shoot-out that followed.

Sometimes the wrong team wins. We all know that. (I’m still outraged about Bush v. Gore). It is even more upsetting when the wrong team wins through cheating, and then has the bad taste to gloat about the appropriateness of stealing victory.

Suarez is reportedly unrepentant. After all, his foul gave Uruguay another chance, which was used to win the game and avoid elimination.

French Captain Thierry Henry faced a similar ethical interrogation. Henry committed an intentional handball in the penalty box in a World Cup qualifying game against Ireland. The handball, passed to a French teammate, resulted in a goal as the referee missed the foul. France defeated Ireland and was rewarded a spot in FIFA 2010.

Henry insisted that his job was to win the game; it was the referee who had failed to perform his duties. Suarez, reportedly, was treated as a hero in the Uruguayan locker room (although Fifa has suspended him from the semi-final game against the Netherlands.)

Is an intentional foul, a red card in the box, the appropriate strategy if it is the only way to avoid defeat? It may be good strategy but I think it is poor manners.