The anguish of a penalty foul: Who should bear the consequences of pain and guilt?
Soccer is one of the best sports activities enjoyed worldwide. The fun of the game is enhanced, especially by the numerous leagues and championships. Unsportsmanlike citizens in a country magically fall in love with the game of soccer when they see their compatriots decked out in their national colors determined to play enthusiastically for their homeland. The most succinct part of the soccer game that can break the hearts of soccer fans and enthusiasts is the taking of a penalty kick. In fact, it is one of the highest pressure situations that sometimes leaves an entire nation glued to a television screen. When a team has a chance to win through the penalty shootout and loses, the pain that occurs is very unbearable. The consequences of pain or guilt typically fall on the player who took the penalty, the coach who selected the shooter, and sometimes the entire team. However, when a soccer team plays a soccer game and the team loses the game on penalties, who is ultimately to blame?
Penalty takers are generally blamed for missing penalty kicks. Angry fans vent their rage on the player and sometimes spread it to their innocent family members. Such was the case of the recent Senegalese and Liverpool star Sadio Mane. After missing the all-important penalty against Cameroon, angry supporters ransacked his home and that of his relatives, destroying his property and other belongings. As a result, their relatives had to seek refuge from security personnel in the country for fear of losing their lives. A similar situation happened in Ghana when the Black Stars captain failed to bury the match by scoring the last minute penalty against Uruguay to lead the team to its first semi-final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The player and his family were booed, Bitterly insulted and humiliated by some angry Ghanaian supporters. Unfortunately, some players had to pay with their lives, as happened to André Escobar of Colombia for scoring an own goal in the 1994 World Cup. These incalculable pain relieved on penalty shooters are very disgusting, inhuman, cowardly and a misunderstanding of the essence of sports activity.
Soccer, like any other sports game, is supposed to be a recreational activity. It aims to bring unity between people and cultures. The competitive nature of the game requires one team to win and the other to lose. This is part of the rudiments of soccer. Therefore, when a team misses a penalty kick by one of its players, the blame and blame should not be placed on the player, nor should it be placed on anyone’s shoulder. The winners of penalty kicks are lucky and lucky people. Scoring a penalty is not a criterion for evaluating a player’s soccer skills and experience. After all, some of the world’s greatest footballers of all time have missed important penalty kicks. Classic examples are the Italian Roberto Baggio, who missed a decisive penalty in the 1994 World Cup, and the French Michel Platini missed the penalty against Brazil in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. made them less talented or skilled at the game? Certainly not! It would be unfair and an act of treason on the part of the supporters of teams and nations to be angry at penalty shooters, coaches or all teams that play soccer.
It should be noted that players who missed penalty kicks already bear personal guilt that places a heavy burden on them. For example, Roberto Baggio still cannot forgive himself for the penalty he missed in the last two decades and more. Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan has pledged not to take penalty kicks as a result of the deep scar left on his heart from his 2010 World Cup penalty shootout. So why are fans and Should soccer fans compound their pain by taking injurious actions against the lives, personalities, families, and possessions of penalty takers, their coaches, and their entire teams?
Supporters of the game should always remember to show the spirit of unity, solidarity and communalism to the entire team and support them in difficult times. Of course, true and patriotic sports soccer fans should rejoice with their teams when they win and, more importantly, cry with them, such as when their teams lose. The pain and guilt that arise as a result of the anguish of a missed penalty must be borne by everyone – the playing team and the supporters. This would help deepen the essence of soccer as a recreational activity aimed at fostering unity among the diverse people and cultures of the world.
