The Hindu : Sport / Football : Medical attention not always needed when player is prone

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 10, 2006

Sport

Sport - Football

Medical attention not always needed when player is prone

BERLIN : Now there's proof players are regularly faking injuries at the World Cup.

One of the biggest criticisms of the tournament has been players diving, pretending to be fouled and acting injured to draw cautions for rival players.

In more than half the cases when a player received treatment on the field, there was no injury reported by medical staff.

Dr. Jiri Dvorak, the head of FIFA's medical committee, said of the 156 on-pitch treatments in the first 62 matches, 88 were not noted in post-match reports.

"We have too much of this," Dvorak said. "It's something we need to look into."

Overall, the number of times medical staff entered the field to treat a player is less than previous World Cups with an average of 2.2 per match.

It was 2.7 in South Korea and Japan in 2002 and 2.4 at France '98, when the cross-referencing system was not as complete.

Dvorak said the extra vigilance of referees had helped reduce injuries.

Of the 138 injuries reported in practice or matches, almost half were caused by fouls and one-quarter did not involve any contact between players.

No positive tests

After 62 matches, there were no positive doping cases. Two players from each team are tested per match and one player is selected at random to undergo testing for EPO, a synthetic hormone used to boost production of red blood cells.

Medical records from all players at the tournament are being collected and will be analyzed after the World Cup, Dvorak said.

The crackdown on elbowing in aerial challenges, recommended by the medical committee, has led to a reduction in head injuries.

There were 11 head injuries recorded, but only one concussion — down from four in 2002.

Dvorak said his next target for closer scrutiny was the "kung fu" style kicks where players raised their feet before collisions.

Klinsmann's car

A 1967 Volkswagen Beetle convertible driven by Jurgen Klinsmann during his playing days is being sold on an Internet auction site — and the price is climbing as fast as the Germany coach's popularity at home.

The price doubled between Friday to Saturday to more than euro300,000 ($383,340), far more than the VW Golf once owned by Pope Benedict XVI. Last May, the German-born Pope's old car was sold for euro189,000 ($241,504).

The owner of the Beetle opened the bidding at euro1.51 ($1.93) July 1. He said the car, which Klinsmann sold while playing for Tottenham, was bought from a dealer in England.

As a player, Klinsmann spurned a high-profile lifestyle. When he first met his wife Debbie, a model, she thought he was a student and paid for his coffee.

Several recent polls show that 92 per cent of the Germans want Klinsmann, whose contract runs out in a few days, to remain as Germany coach. — AP

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