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What would you do if you were going to face for the first time the man who had an affair with your woman?
That was the case when soccer player Wayne Bridge faced his former teammate John Terry in the match between Chelsea and Manchester City on Feb. 27.
In the past month, one of the biggest scandals in England was the rumor and confirmation that the fiancé of Bridge, Vannessa Perroncel, had an affair with Chelsea’s captain, Terry.
On game day, as tradition dictates, at the beginning of each game, the visitors come to shake hands with the home team.
The expected moment had come when Terry and Bridge were going to meet, and all the speculations were right.
Bridge refused to shake hands with Terry.
Now comes the question: who had worse sportsmanship?
Is it Bridge for refusing to shake hands? Or Terry for having an affair with his former teammate’s fiancé?
As a soccer player, I find myself in a very uncomfortable position thinking about it and wondering what I would do if I found myself in the same situation.
Personally, I believe they are both wrong.
Terry’s actions were very wrong. He is a married man. He has children. And he slept with the fiancé of his teammate. Some argue that all this happened off the field, however, and should not reflect on his sportsmanship.
What I have learned as a soccer player is that you are responsible for your actions on and off the field, and as a soccer player you are required to have excellent behavior no matter what you are doing.
As a captain, Terry should be behaving in a way that would bring his team together not divide it. Bridge was wrong when he did not shake Terry’s hand.
As a good player, he should have taken the higher road and been a good sport.
If you put yourself in Bridge’s shoes, however, you can see why he did not shake Terry’s hand and probably did not even want to come face-to-face with his now ex-fiancé’s lover.
All scandals have repercussions, and this one is no exception.
Terry was stripped of his captaincy and Bridge renounced his position on England’s national team. Ultimately, this may affect England’s chances of winning the World Cup in South Africa this summer.
This should be a lesson to all athletes on the importance of good sportsmanship on and off the pitch.
Hilberth Ibarra is a staff writer for The Advocate. Contact him at hibarra.advocate@gmail.com
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