World Cup Fair Play on Display Today

While it will be easy to get caught up looking at the moves of Brazil’s attacking players in today’s match against France, one person who I will be keeping an eye on is Lucio. The defender has gone 360 minutes without being called for a foul in this tournament.

If Lucio is able to last another 23 minutes without a foul, he will break the record set by Paraguay defender Carlos Gamarra in 1998.

This four-game run is made even more remarkable considering how many whistles we have heard blown this World Cup. Perhaps the referees are too busy looking at Brazil’s more famous players too to even notice that Lucio is in the game.

Two of the tournament’s fairest teams are also in action today, if you judge fairness by the number of cautions that are handed out. England and Brazil both enter today’s semifinals having accumulated just seven cards each in their first four matches.

I would say that this would put them in contention for FIFA’s Fair Play Award, but after searching the main World Cup site I couldn’t find a list of leaders and the only explanation of the criteria for the award is this nebulous one: “The FIFA Fair Play award is given to the team with the best record of fair play according to the points system and criteria established by the FIFA Fair Play Committee.”

Whatever it means, Brazil and England are no strangers to the Fair Play Award. Brazil has won it three times and England has won it twice.

Who won it in 2002? Belgium. I forgot they were even in the tournament.