Gamesmanship vs Cheating

Last weekend, an incident occurred in the German Bundesliga in a bottom-half of the table battle between SV Werder Bremen and FC Nürnberg. 

Werder Bremen player Aaron Hunt took a large touch past a Nürnberg defender inside of the penalty area and appeared to stumble before going to ground. The referee immediately stopped play and awarded a penalty kick to Bremen. However, Hunt approached the referee to say a few words and the referee reversed his decision.

Upon closer look at the replay, it looks as if Hunt almost trips or drags his right foot across the ground to simulate a foul just after he is past his defender - in other words, a dive. After the game, Hunt even admitted he had attempted to gain an advantage:

“It was clear to me that I made a mistake. That’s why I did not have to think much about it. We don't want to win like that, not even in a battle for relegation.”

In a sport in which winning at all costs seems to be the motto of the day, Hunt's fair play, as some are calling it, has been deemed "refreshingly honest". 

With the goal of encouraging attacking play, referees now frequently award fouls and penalties that ten or twenty years ago would not have been considered a talking point. Gone are the days of the hard-tackling tough men, where players managed doing everything just short of murder to stop an attacking opponent from scoring or otherwise influencing the game.

While this is perhaps a welcome change to an ugly style of play, modern focus has shifted from overly-physical play to players who walk the line between gamesmanship and cheating. Luis Suarez, one of the best players in the game at the moment, has seen multiple suspensions for incidents like this, this, and this, but is also capable of moments like this. 

Clearly actions such as biting an opponent should not, and are not, condoned by those who participate, govern, coach, or watch the game at any level. However, modern professional players are paid to win games. Success as a professional player has a direct correlation with the success of the professional team. Players seek to take advantage of the subjective nature of the FIFA Laws of the Game, in which the referee's discretion comes into play.

For example, Law 15 specifically states that "a throw-in is taken from the point where the ball crossed the touch-line into touch" and it is an infringement to "deliver [a throw-in] from a point other than where the ball left the field of play". If this infringement occurs, a throw-in must be awarded to the opposing team.

How often do we see players advance five, even ten yards further up the field to take a throw-in? Or my favorite, the "walk up the field looking for an option, then put the ball down for a teammate to run over to do the same". Yet this is rarely enforced.

By allowing players to frequently get away with this, referees are creating a loophole in the Laws through systematic reinforcement - a culture of gamesmanship, if you will. There are other examples, such as putting the ball down for a free kick in a different spot, a defensive wall slowly inching its way forward from ten yards, jersey grabbing and tugging on set plays, elbows coming up and out when fighting for a header, etc.

What is the dividing line between gamesmanship and cheating? It's a huge gray area, but I think it depends wholly on the collective soccer culture. 

By that, I mean, what is accepted as a norm and what is vilified? Even within the broader international soccer culture, there remains a large discrepancy in what is considered "part of the game" and what is considered cheating. In Spain, Portugal, or Brazil, drawing contact in the penalty area could be considered part of the game, whereas in the United States or England it might be considered diving. 

This is, of course, a generalization based on my knowledge of soccer culture in those countries, and cannot be taken as anything other than my opinion.

This topic of conversation brings up some interesting talking points about soccer culture. My observations suggest that soccer cultures that typically encourage individual flair and attacking play seem to have little issue with actions like diving, but those that have historically lauded physical and tough players seem to think it is a gross transgression of the rules.

The dividing line between gamesmanship and cheating is clearly very subjective. I'm interested to hear what other people think about the topic as a whole, so please discuss!

Update: Upon further reflection, I realized that I wanted to tie this post into youth soccer, but failed to do so. Soccer at a high level is so accessible on television and in person, depending on what region or nation you live in. Kids can watch multiple EPL, La Liga, or even MLS games when they aren't busy playing soccer on a Saturday or Sunday. DVR makes this even easier, as games can be recorded while families are out doing other activities.

For more discussion, what sort of impact does gamesmanship or cheating at the professional level have on young soccer players who aspire to play at a high level? Are these behaviors negatively influencing the development of youth soccer players, or are they preparing them to compete at a higher level?