Amazing Portugal Excite with Seven Goals, Soccer Fans Disappointed

Patrick Williams

Fans of soccer, or ‘Futbol’ as it is known by anyone who follows the sport, were left feeling betrayed and disappointed on Monday night as the sport they knew and loved was turned into a farce.

People witnessing the match were treated to a high scoring, action packed display of skill and excitement, which has left fans of the sport feeling disgusted and ashamed. Many feel that the beautiful game has been tainted by the incident, and that any chance of it retaining its image of a defensive, boring game has been lost.

“If I wished to see sports that had lots of scoring and many moments of excitement I would go watch a game of basketball or AFL” said Enrique Stephanos, a Portugal supporter, who was asked to comment on Portugal’s shameful win after the match.

“Sure, we won on the scoreboard, but everyone who follows the sport knows that really we lost. What kind of futbol team aims to score more than one, maybe two, goals in a match. We had the 1-0 lead and yet our players refused to defend and waste time. It makes me ashamed to be Portuguese.”

Les Murray summed up the feelings of many after the match, stating that “For it to happen at the world cup of all places is upsetting for fans of the sport. Whatever happened to the nil-all draw? Today is a sad day for futbol.”

FIFA president Sepp Blatter issued a statement to fans of both teams and the sport in general after the match in an attempt to regain the confidence of all involved in futbol.

“I would firstly like to apologies to anyone who had to witness the match. A game with that many goals and moments of furor never has, and never will belong in the game of futbol”, stated Blatter. “We make no excuses for it happening, however, I will promise here and now that such a display as that of today shall never be witnessed again in futbol so long as I remain president.”

The deplorable display comes less than a week after Portugal’s glorious 0-0 draw with the Ivory Coast, making Monday night’s match all the more unexpected.

Questions are now being asked as to who is to blame for the travesty that has shaken the sport to its core. Many suspect that the match’s referee, Pablo Pozo, will be severely reprimanded after he failed to give a mandatory red card to Portugal when they took a 1-0 lead, as has been par for the tournament before the match.

Others, however, are blaming the players themselves. The game appeared to be a respectable one at the half-time mark, with the score locked down at 1-0. But in the second half, for reasons yet unknown, the Portugal players began the disgraceful run of play that lead to a further six goals. At one point, the commotion and noise caused by one of the goals temporarily drowned out the sound of the vuvuzelas, upsetting fans even further.

Portugal’s Tiago, who was responsible for two of the shameful goals, publicly apologised after the match.

“When you get selected to represent your country, you never even contemplate it ending as terribly as it did for me today. I apologise wholeheartedly and unreservedly for my two goals. This is not what the sport is about. I realise now that I should have played the game the way it was meant to be played, the way all players who have come before me played it. I promise from now on to simply defend, dive for free kicks and generally waste everyone’s time. Today has been a day of great shame for me.”

In other world cup news, England's 0-0 draw has been labeled a “classic” and “one for the fans”. The low scoring affair sets them up for immediate qualification for the final 16 under FIFA’s widely praised ‘Draw is the new Win’ rule.