I have no intent on spilling my Immanuel Kant theories on a Monday morning, but I couldn’t help but connect the dots on the much talked about, and highly controversial soccer goal in last week’s World Cup qualifier between France and Ireland. A soccer event that would have otherwise is a non-event on this side of the Atlantic has forced the rest of the world to question our own subjective morality and how far we will go to bend the rules.The Thiery Henry ‘hand ball’ is a YouTube sensation and the French are not sitting in Paris wailing. Ireland soccer players on the other hand will have to wait another four years to try again. The Irish are furious, and they will be for a long time, and who can blame them? To play a World Cup decider, give your best effort only to be ‘sideswiped’ or handswiped by Henry’s latest installment of Diego Maradona’s Hand of God, will stun almost anyone. Disbelief doesn’t even begin to describe the sentiments, and anyone with some appreciation for ethical conduct, whether in sports or in business will certainly appreciate why people are calling for a replay.
Will FIFA approve of a replay? Take my word for it, not in this lifetime. The fact is that sports in riddled with unfair actions from start to finish. The referees are human, and their fallibility is very much a part of the game. Accidents do happen, blown calls happen everyday, and players find creative ways to win games. There is nothing new here. What happens next is what actually will set the precedent for ‘fair play’ and tech the next generation of sports fans the true appreciation for ethical conduct.
I will argue that FIFA missed the point of this exercise by not penalizing Henry and the French for cheating. This is precisely the reason why advocates of review booths are screaming all over the place. The football federation has called for an extraordinary general meeting in December to discuss related incidents for the World Cup, but you can throw out any possibility of a Republic of Ireland-France rematch.
The ethical conflict is no different in modern day business than it is in sports, and we might as well admit that our own reactions towards honesty and cheating in sports is a snapshot of our deep-seated moral curves in business.
So much for ethics and ‘fair play’.
