Is it an Ethical Decision?
On November 23th, there was a Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Ajax. Since both teams are very well organized and have shown outstanding performances during the season, soccer fans were expecting a remarkable match. As a result, Real Madrid succeeded to score four goals against Ajax, and reached the top spot in Group G. However, after the game, the decision made by the manager of Real Madrid, José Mourinho, caused a great controversy. At the very end of the game, Mourinho directed two key players, Xavi Alonso and Sergio Ramos, to try to get another yellow card so that they can be suspended on the next Champions League match. At last, Alonso and Ramos received second yellow cards by delaying a ball playing, which they were suspended until the next match (I attached a link that shows video of the situation). Real Madrid have already been decided to play at the knockout stage despite the final match in Group G, and Mourinho wanted to have their yellow card count wiped clean ahead of the Champions League knockout stages.
Is this an ethical decision made by the manager of the team? It is true that they didn’t violate the rules, and it seems that those two players were adequately punished from their behaviors. Some people say that it was a clever decision and there is nothing wrong with it, however, I think the manager’s decision is against the sports spirit. Professional athletes should try their best to earn victory, which the Real Madrid players’ behaviors were disrespectful to the opponent team. How about the soccer fans watching the game? You will notice from the video that fans were outraged by the behaviors of the players. Those fans paid to watch the team performing exciting plays, not to watch them playing only to gain advantage. This incident has occurred at one of the most popular soccer league in the world, which I think the managers and players should be more aware of the sportsmanship.
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