Our recent football question from Planet Sport Football Africa on whether Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford should have been sent off for his challenge on Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk – which left the Reds defender injured and likely to miss most of the rest of the season – prompted lots of feedback from you.
Many of you felt that as no action was taken by the FA, who said the ref saw the incident and took no action, we should all move on. Others felt that while it was a bad tackle, it was not intentional. And some spoke about remorse and forgiveness.
In the heat of the moment, it’s hard to pinpoint a player’s motives. A goalkeeper’s job is to defend his goal and keep the opposition out. Sometimes eagerness to do that can lead to a foul – and it was only because Van Dijk was offside that no penalty was awarded.
Of course, the consequences of a bad tackle can be more far reaching: a serious injury, and in some cases, even a career-ending injury.
As football fans, we feel injustice acutely. Why does one tackle lead to a red card, and a similar one in a different game, only a yellow? Why are some penalties given for minimal contact in the box, while other seemingly more blatant offences are not penalised? It’s just not fair.
Of course, we recognise that – even with VAR – referees are human, and make mistakes. Some players are punished harshly, others get away with it.
In life, as well as in football, we like things to be fair and consistent. Justice should be for all. But that calls for a judge who is ultimately fair and just, and who is reliably consistent.
We believe that only Almighty God is a fair and consistent judge, devoted to absolute justice, yet full of love and mercy. Humankind deserves punishment because we all fall short of the standards Almighty God requires for us. As it says in the Bible “… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3: 23).
Yet because of his love and mercy, Almighty God provides a way of forgiveness for us, thanks to the death and resurrection of Jesus. He took the punishment we deserved, and provides a way for our broken relationship with God to be restored.
We deserve a red card, yet God offers forgiveness and a fresh start, because of Jesus. That’s an amazing gift from the ultimate judge – a gift of amazing love and mercy.
If you’d like to find out more about the forgiveness and fresh start that Almighty God offers visit our Finding Faith page and read about the experiences of several top sportsmen and women including Red Bull Salzburg and Zambia footballer Patson Daka, and England international footballer, Chioma Ubogagu.