5 greatest sportsmanship moments in football

Nowadays, it is not really surprising to see players diving, cheating and trying to con the referee so that they can gain an advantage over the opponents, however small it may be. But once in a while, there comes a moment when the player decides honesty is a more important value than just winning. Here are 5 such moments we could find in football. If you know more such events, let us know in the comments section below!

Paulo di Canio

Paulo di Canio, as a player and a manager, has been known to do some very crazy things, on and off the football field. But amongst all the crazy things, this is one that will be forever remembered for the right things.

With the game at Goodison Park poised at 1-1 in the dying minutes, di Canio, playing for West Ham against Everton, received a cross from a teammate. But just seconds prior to that, Everton’s goal keeper, who had ran out to try and intercept the ball, twisted his knee and was on the floor, leaving an open net. So, when he got the cross, seeing the goal keeper writhing in pain, caught the ball rather than put it in the net.

He received a standing ovation from the home crowd for this act of sportsmanship.

Miroslav Klose

Almost everyone knows about Diego Maradona‘s “Hand of God” goal. And then there was Luis Suarez‘s own version of hand of God when he used to stop a goal! But Miroslav Klose, playing for Lazio, decided not to use the God option.

Playing against Napoli, Klose scored off a corner kick in the 4th minute, giving Lazio the lead. The entire Napoli team were up in arms, so to speak, claiming that Klose had used his hand to score rather than the head, as it appeared. Though he initially went off to celebrate, Klose went back to tell the referee to disallow the goal, admitting that the ball did hit his hand.

Robbie Fowler

It is not often that a big game sees moments of honesty showing up. When you are playing teams like Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, and you are playing for Liverpool, you take all the chances that you get to make a name and win the match for your team.

But not Robbie Fowler. When the referee pointed to the penalty spot after what appeared to be a foul by Arsenal’s goalkeeper David Seaman on Robbie, he immediately got up and said that Seaman didn’t touch him and it shouldn’t be given as a penalty. However, bizarrely, the referee chose to ignore him and insisted that the penalty be taken. Liverpool scored from the ensuing spot kick and went on to win the game.

Ajax-Cambuur

In the Dutch Eredivisie, Ajax were playing Cambuur when this bizarre incident took place. Usually, when play is stopped so that an injured player can be attended to, the opposition players give the ball back so that play can be started again.

However, Jan Vertonghen, who’s now playing for Tottenham, lofted the ball towards the opposition goalkeeper, which inadvertently went into the net, even though he did not mean to do so. As a mark of sportsmanship, the Ajax players stood in their places, and allowed the Cambuur team to score a goal unopposed (which they almost messed up, by the way!)

Oliver Kahn

When you have won the greatest prize in club football, your first instinct is to celebrate, considering such moments come but only a few times. But for Oliver Kahn, it was more important to console his opposite number.

After their win over Valencia in the UEFA Champions League final through penalties, while the rest of the team was celebrating, he walked over to Valencia’s goalkeeper Santiago Canizares, who was distraught and inconsolable. Knowing full well he could have been in the place of Canizare, he tried to talk with him, and seeing him, a few other players came over as well. This will perhaps remain one of the enduring sights in the great man’s career!