Ethics of trash talk in soccer

Abstract

This study investigated trash talk among soccer players, focusing on whether it actually disturbed playing performance and whether the ability to ignore such trash talk was an asset to the game. The``Laws of the Game'' of soccer stipulate that any player who uses``oŠensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures'' should be dismissed from theˆeld. Therefore, any penalty imposed on players for such behavior can be interpreted as sanctions for prohibited act. Furthermore, any game in which oŠensive or insulting remark are used was considered by reference to Kawatani's opinion about excellence and``failed athletic contest''. When a referee penalizes a player appropriately for such behavior, it is suggested that the game has not``failed''. On the other hand, as such behavior is often di‹cult for a referee to notice, an appropriate penalty is sometimes not administered. Therefore, it is suggested that an oŠensive or insulting remark is an act that indirectly destroys the ethos of a game. I conclude that the ability to ignore trash talk is not an asset to the game in principle, but that such ability is practically necessary.

The Problem of “Losing Games on Purpose”: With Reference to Discussions Concerning “Failed Athletic Contests”*

“…International Association for the Philosophy of Sport (Dixon, 1999;Hämäläinen, 2014;Kawatani, 2012Kawatani, , 2013Kreider，2011;Pakaslahti，2016). Omine (2015) clarified the point that trash talk creates "failed athletic contests" by referring to Kawatani (2012Kawatani ( , 2013 as a viewpoint to analyze the game where trash talk occurred in a soccer game.…”