Which offence would you consider the worst?

therecklessone

Which of the following is the worst offence on a football pitch in your opinion?

1. Deliberate violent conduct
2. Diving
3. Spitting
4. Handball (to stop a goal)
5. Handball (to score a goal)

I've left racist abuse out, I think we'd all agree thats a step above the rest.

Carcharodon

Spitting
I think its just a really low and pathetic thing to do, would rather someone hit me than spat at me.
Violent conduct can be awful but understandable in certain situations, high intensity confrontations, heat of the moment, lashing out with frustration. I think anyone that plays sport is guilty of some sort of violent conduct at some stage, its part of the game.

TheMonster

Deffo spitting - lowest of the low - its a reflection of the character of the player.Only one close is deliberate voilent conduct.
The other 3 are more cheating.

matrim

I would count spitting as the least of those offences. It's low but you don't risk injuring a player or changing the course of the game

1. Deliberate violent conduct

Risk of injuring a player for an extended period, or even just that game putting his team at a disadvantage.

2. Handball (to stop a goal)
2. Handball (to score a goal)

I'd count these the same. If deliberate you are changing the course of the game by cheating.

3. Diving

Again depends of the level of the dive, if someone hits you and you go down easy it's not as bad as just jumping over their leg and rolling around for 5 minutes. But you are deliberately trying to change the course of the game by cheating, putting your team at an advantage by getting a free and leaving the other player at risk of a card.

4. Spitting

It's low and as TheMonster said shows the character of the player, but the other player isn't at risk of injury.

Carcharodon

matrim wrote:

4. Spitting

It's low and as TheMonster said shows the character of the player, but the other player isn't at risk of injury.

Emotional injury
Spitting would incite me into violent conduct

Rollo Tamasi

Atari Jaguar.

If a computerised cat was left to roam around a football pitch it would obviously do a lot more harm than spitting or diving.

Fanny Cradock

Diving really infuriates me. However, it is a low level offence when compared to others. I would find it hard to liken a "Thacher" type of challenge to poor sportsmanship. This said, I think that diving has a far greater impact on the game becuse of its frequency (countless times in EVERY game) compared to spitting/ hand ball or violent challenges.

MrJoeSoap

Spitting, can't stand Francesco Totti.

ishnid

therecklessone wrote:

I've left racist abuse out, I think we'd all agree thats a step above the rest.

Why do you say that? I'd rate deliberate violent conduct as being worse than that. I would argue that since it doesn't have the potential to threaten a player's livelihood or pose an immediate threat to his health. Sticks and stones and all that. Of course, racist abuse should not be tolerated in the game and any attempts to stop it is much welcomed. There are worse things, though.

Gillie

They are all bad but violent conduct is the most dangerous.
When you see things like the Ben Thatcher incident it puts the other things in perspective!

Kingp35

Definitely diving for me. The reason I say this because its downright cheating and it happens far more often thah any of the others. Players diving has totally ruined the sport of football to the point that I enjoy the top level of the game an awful lot less than I used to.

It needs to be cut out because its killing the sport.

Pigman II

Spitting aside I consider harrassing the referee for his decisions to be worst problem in the game. It's a complete waste of time (when have you ever seen a ref change his decision based on intimidation?) and the act just gives off the impression that footballers are scumbags (which of course is true in the majority of cases but however ....)

Anyway, if I had my way I'd make it an automatic red card offence to question a refs decision or otherwise try to intimidate the ref.

Zebra3

Violent conduct is far the worst.

Interestingly, spitting at/on someone is not considered the huge insult in parts of Europe that it is here in Ireland. In places like the Balkans it's seen as little more than gamesmanship. Something people shoulod be aware of before they condemn people for doing it.

therecklessone

Zebra3 wrote:

Something people shoulod be aware of before they condemn people for doing it.

What an odd thing to say. I'm also aware that in certain parts of the world its ok to hit your wife a few smacks, but I'm happy to condem that. Why should this be any different?

ishnid wrote:

Why do you say that?

Couple of reasons.

Racism is much harder to prove, and consequentally punish, than the other offences because it tends to be personal, and relies on one player's word over another. Video evidence is virtually useless. IMO, racism is more insidious.

I also think racism is worse because it is so selective in who is targeted. Anyone can be assaulted, or cheated in a game, but fewer can be racially abused (and it tends to be black players who are targeted). IMO, there is something fundamentally wrong with that.

I still can't make up my mind about the worst offence of the five, there's a par of me that values honesty on a football pitch and sees slightly more honour in a Ben Thatcher forearm smash than a Drogba dive or a Diouf spit. I accept that violent conduct endangers the health and well being of other players,its a tough call.

Zebra3

therecklessone wrote:

What an odd thing to say. I'm also aware that in certain parts of the world its ok to hit your wife a few smacks, but I'm happy to condem that. Why should this be any different?

I'm not for one moment saying it's right. All I'm saying is that it's more accepted in some parts of Europe the way, say, diving is in, say, Italy.

In some parts of Europe spitting is simply seen as you give it and take it. I'd compare it more to an acceptance of shirt pulling than wife beating, as we were talking in terms of events that can happen on the football pitch.

spacecoyote

definitely violent conduct, think i could handle being spit on by Frank Rijkard over an elbow to the head from Ben Thatcher

therecklessone

Zebra3 wrote:

I'm not for one moment saying it's right. All I'm saying is that it's more accepted in some parts of Europe the way, say, diving is in, say, Italy.

By that logic we should be less judgemental regarding diving so?

Necronomicon

Diving and spitting are both dispicable but when I see incidents like Ben Thatcher's forearm on Pedro Mendes or West Brom's Paul Robinson's elbow on the Birmingham player at the weekend, I have to say violent conduct.
I think professional fouls is another one worth a mention.