Sweden might have a well-deserved reputation in both men’s and women’s football for a resolutely defensive style of play. On the men’s side the strictly organised, reactive system which became a hallmark of Lars Lagerbäck’s tenure barely shifted under his successor Erik Hamrén, and was certainly in full force as they struggled to qualify for Euro 2016 before departing in the group stage without scoring a single goal. On the women’s side, Pia Sundhage likewise sets her team up to play predominantly on the counter.
But when United States goalkeeper Hope Solo called the Swedish women ‘cowards’ after they beat her side 5-4 on penalties in the quarter-finals of the Rio Olympics, it was hardly good for American-Swedish relations, which these days seem to revolve around Julian Assange but in fact have held firm ever since the days of the Revolutionary War.
Solo also seemed to be carping at her former boss, with Sundhage having managed the United States between 2008 and 2012, a spell which resulted in successive Olympic gold medals. Yet however excessive, inappropriate, or unsporstwomanlike her comments were deemed, they hardly deserved the six-month ban which the national team and United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati belatedly doled out.
Her comments were far from libellous, and bred on a diet of cloudberries, crispbreads, and chocolate milk, the Swedes are made of stern stuff. They surely shed few tears at Hope’s remarks, which besides were roundly disowned by the rest of the United States squad. The United States headed home while Sweden – after another penalty shootout versus Brazil – eventually succumbed in the final to Germany.
As anyone who has followed any sport for any duration surely appreciates, sportsmanship might sound like a pleasant enough concept, but in practise it often serves narrow ends, providing a thin veneer of respectability which often serves the ends of boredom or oppression. Sportsmanship dilutes characters and criticisms and makes a settled bed for those already on top.
The wider context in this case seems to be Hope’s history of acting out. Having made her debut for the national team back in 2000, she has since broken a litany of goalkeeping records, with 202 appearances, 153 wins, 102 clean sheets, and a 55-game unbeaten streak. She can boast two Olympic golds and one World Cup, in addition to a host of personal awards and lesser trophies.
But in 2007 she was sent home early from the World Cup after criticising coach Greg Ryan, as the national team’s long winning streak came to a crushing close. After taking gold in the 2008 Olympics, she later admitted to appearing on the Today show drunk. In 2012 she received a public warning from the US Anti-Doping Agency when a banned substance was detected in a urine sample, although everyone later accepted the incident as nothing more than a mistake. Two misdemeanor assault charges from 2014 remain pending after the case, which involves her half-sister and nephew, was revived last October. And in January 2015, she received a thirty-day suspension after her husband Jerramy Stevens, accompanied by Solo, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
So Solo’s six-month ban seems rooted in an accumulation of incidents and embarrassments, rather than simply a result of her ‘cowards’ remark. But the occasional awkward moment and a distaste for husband are insufficient grounds for any suspension this time round, never mind one that covers such a lengthy period. By using Solo’s post-match comments as a pretext for the sort of rebuke which might even end the thirty-five-year-old’s illustrious career, it is the United States soccer administration which seems cowardly.
