White Riot wrote: ↑Thu Nov 26, 2020 1:49 pm
I don't agree with you on this one Fridge.
In the same match Lineker scored a great header to get us back in the game. John Barnes sent over a number of wonderful crosses near the end of the match, one of which Lineker just couldn't quite nod the ball into the net. If he'd used his hand as Maradona did we'd have had an equalizer, but he chose not to cheat even though a World Cup semi was at stake. Argentina's arses had already dropped out when Lineker scored the first one, so we could well have gone on to win that match if Lineker was prepared to cheat.
Some good points here.
Lineker is of course notorious for his excellent sportsmanship, having never received a booking in his career. However, I'm not convinced that had he accidentally scored a goal with his hand in the same game, that he would run screaming to the ref 'no ref, it was a hand ball.' Of course he wouldn't, let's not kid ourselves.
(And that's not me saying that Maradona did or did not do it on purpose, certainly looks like he knew what he was doing but you can never say for certain)
White Riot wrote: ↑Thu Nov 26, 2020 1:49 pm
d) Peter Shilton is so slow to anticipate play and come out that a midget is able to out jump him to the ball. Even using his hand Maradona should not be able to out jump Shilton.
Shilton has once again left a very poor taste in my mouth with his antics over the last 24 hours.
Not even 24 hours after Maradona's death and Shilton has run to the Daily Mail to cry some more about that famous incident. What poor taste. He should be ashamed of himself, selling out to make it all about him once again in such short time. What a perfect opportunity to rise above it all and celebrate the man for his great football (of course this is the second time he couldn't rise above Maradona)
And what an excellent point you make about Shilton. Not only is he 8 inches taller than Maradona, he is also allowed to use his hands. How he has been so slow off his line and beaten in the air, I'll never know. My honest feeling is he is embarrassed knowing that, handball or not, that ball should never have ended up in the back of the net.
Maradona himself put it excellently:
"Shilton! You think you are the hero, the honest Shilton! Tell me, if the ball crossed just over the line, and you swept it away without the referee seeing it had gone over, would you go and tell him it was a goal?" (No, he wouldn't)
And as Gascoigne puts it above, 'That goal made you anyway Shilton'
Let's of course remember that none of this stopped Shilton from gracelessly cashing in on the incident for the rest of his career. Let's not forget the 'Peter Shilton's Handball Maradona' video game on the C64.
Shilton will remain bitter about the incident until the end of his days I suspect. At the end of the day, it's not Maradona's fault that Shilton can't jump!
I don't really subscribe to the idea that English footballers have always been the shining example for grace and fair play and that foreign footballers are the ones who brought cheating and poor sportsmanship into the game. I'm of course not calling all English players cheaters either, I'm just saying they're no different from any other.
Of course we would all think that our players are the ultimate examples of sportsmanship, we support England after all.