It’s official ladies and gentlemen, most players laying hurt on the pitch in Germany were faking their injuries.
FIFA’s chief medical officer Jiri Dvorak told a group that "too many players" feigned being hurt for tactical reasons at the World Cup.
Anybody really shocked by this announcement? I certainly am not.
FIFA even gave a number as far as just how rampant the cheating was.
"Fifty-eight percent of the players who were treated on the pitch during the 2006 World Cup eventually turned out not to be injured."
Some commenting on this blog have called this gamesmanship, citing its place in the sport since the dawn of football.
Does that make it okay? Is "that’s how they’ve always done it" a good enough excuse to turn our heads on fifty-eight percent of players pulling tricks to gain an advantage?
I’m not ready to stop my fight against this epidemic, and when even FIFA acknowledges the problem, I guess I am not alone.