The Definition of a Bad Loser?

There’s been an unusual request made over the weekend.

Let me fill you in.

The last game of the “Millennium Magic” event at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was between two of the stronger teams in Super League – Bradford Bulls and Leeds Rhinos. Its usually a good match between them and this time was no exception. Bradford led 38-36 with a minute left to go. Leeds were awarded a penalty, and Kevin Sinfield kicked for goal to tie the game.

The kick rebounded off a post, a Leeds player collected the ball and got over the line to score a try, which turned out to be the winning points. The referee, Steve Ganson, wasn’t aware of any problems with the play and awarded the try without referring to the video referee.

It now seems that after viewing video evidence, the try-scorer, Jordan Tansey, was clearly offside when chasing the kick down, and therefore the try should have been disallowed. But the move was not referred, the video evidence not analysed by officials at the time, and nothing done. Since the game, Steve Ganson has seen the video, and backed by the Rugby Football League, publicly apologised for the mistake and said that he wished that he had referred the decision. Fair enough, you might think – its sport, played and regulated by human beings, and sometimes these things happen.

But, this is clearly not the way Bradford Bulls think about sport. The below is quoted on the BBC Sport website:

“The Leeds Rhinos club is justifiably a proud club, with a great tradition, and
a club which above all values its reputation for right and fair dealing in everything it does.
"For these reasons I shall be inviting the Leeds Rhinos to do the right thing again now, for the benefit of their own reputation certainly, but also for the good of the great game of rugby league, to voluntarily hand over to Bradford Bulls what is, as the whole game now acknowledges, rightfully ours - the two points so cruelly taken from us by Mr Ganson's failure to act.”

For goodness sake, do us all a favour and grow up. These things happen - it’s what sport does to you. You don’t always win and you are not always happy with everything. Just grow up, swallow it and get on with the next game.

For the record, the Leeds Rhinos’ response is perfect (in my opinion) – again quoted on the BBC Sport website:

“It's an unusual request to be asked to consider.
"The Bulls will have another chance for two points on 29 June when the two teams meet at Carnegie Headingley.”

In other words, just stop complaining and get on with it.

In the cricket world, Sri Lanka have complained to the ICC about Adam Gilchrist’s use of a squash ball in his batting glove while playing. For those of you who don’t know, AG used a softened squash ball in one of his gloves to prevent the bat from turning in his hands when playing a shot throughout the World Cup. It didn’t come up as an issue at the time presumably because his performances in the first 10 matches they played were modest by his standards. But since his record-breaking 149 from 104 balls in final helped the aussies beat Sri Lanka by 51 runs, it is apparently something the losing finalists have decided should be reported to the ICC. They claim that they aren’t saying its illegal, just that its not in the “spirit and tradition of the game.”

The Australian response is typically Aussie and thoroughly fair comment:

“It's a storm in a teacup, or a batting glove. It's been suggested that if
shoving a squash ball into your bottom glove makes you bat like Adam Gilchrist,
then perhaps the ICC should make it compulsory.”
Peter Young, Cricket Australia.