The unbearable cruelty of sport.

Today Wales lost to France in the semi-final of the rugby world cup. The sense of anguish and despair across the the land is almost palpable. Two weeks Everton lost to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby; I am only just getting over that disappointment. Apart from the experience of loss, both games had something else in common - a bitter sense of injustice. In the Wales game Sam Warburton was sent off for an alleged dangerous tackle:

A dangerous tackle and the referee send Warburton off and ended Wales' hope of defeating France.

In the Merseyside derby a similar incident took place when after just 17 minutes Jack Rodwell was shown red for an alleged reckless tackle on the Liverpool midfield player Suarez. As can be seen from this photograph, Rodwell was incredulous, and the television replay later showed he had played the ball fairly:

Rodwell saw red.

The point being made is that in each case it appears that vital games have been decided by poor refereeing decisions. The sense of injustice felt by the supporters of each team (Wales and Everton in this case) will last for years; it will become part of the folklore of these sports.

Winning really matters. Reason hardly comes into it; the supporters in both cases cannot take a broad view of the game, rather that the incident (here Rodwell and Warburton) explains everything. The incident becomes the reason for failure.

Yet a rational evaluation points to a different view of these events. Rodwell showed lack of experience making such a lunging tackle, and other Everton players committed worse offences without receiving cautions of any kind. Warburton (as can be seen from the photograph) tackled the French player in the air, which is strictly forbidden as it can lead to horrendous injuries. The referee (who I hope does not have a Facebook account with Welsh friends on it) was merely protecting the life and limb of professional sportsmen.

So a different interpretation is possible in both of these high profile sporting events. Nevertheless, the desperate disappointment - the unbearable cruelty of sport - is masked if one can find an excuse or reason for failure.