Man off work with bad back played in Charity football match

[Gromit]

Man off work with a bad back was filmed playing football in a local charity match. He has now been suspended. Do you agree this is too harsh...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml =/news/2007/08/02/wsumo102.xml

[Reverandfunk]

How can it be too harsh??

Not well enough to go to work but well enough to play football.

[LeMarchand]

No. If he wanted time off, he should have booked it.

[Neilzulu1]

If he was signed off and receiving sickness benefits, then yes it is right to suspend him.

I think he should give the bogus money he has claimed to the charity, then everyone is a winner.

[rburke]

He should be sacked

[Loosehead]

Are we missing the point here? Give him a passport and sign him for England!

[helpmetoo]

er,...... dont you read the link?

[jno]

doesn't look like anyone has, helpmetoo (except CD)... Somehow everyone knows the story already. Magic!

[Bazile]

I'm too busy at the moment to concentrate on AB - What's been missed on the link ?

[China Doll]

Now how could I possibly make a sensible comment to Groms's sensible question without reading the link jno... tut, tut.

[andy-hughes]

It's possible that he has recovered from the injuries, but franly, as such a high profile sportsman, he should have had more sense than to behave in this cavalier fashion.

I think the ruling body did right to make an example of their man - the Japanese have a serious problem with dishonesty.

Coincidentally, I am off work with slipped disc, and I could no more play football than fly to the end of the earth! Just walking up and down stairs is agony for me, and i cannot sit or lie in one position for more than a few minutes.

I wish I was well enough to dive around a football field, but then, if I was, I'd toddle off back to work!

[flip_flop]

When I first saw it I could've sworn it wass Jan Molby - same physique, just different coloured hair.

[China Doll]

Oh good grief why was my answer banned?! I had stars for that and everything...

Groms can I have my stars back please?!

[Bazile]

China Doll - I took your answer to be tongue in cheek - yes ?
AB ed obviously didn't - ( and stars in the news section is such a rarity )

[China Doll]

I was deadly serious as always.

[Gromit]

CD,

Amusing that you got the joke and did a joke answer, and the AB Ed thought your bl00dy foreigners rant was serious. These Daily Mail readers really do believe anything thats in print.

Stars returned above.

[China Doll]

It wasn't even as bad as some of the points of view on here! Honestly, some people... but ta muchley for the return of my stars...

(Nice to have you back in news too.... venturing in to the dark side late at night could be hazardous to your health dear).

[ruby27]

Wow, 2000 years of sumo history and they have had to take some disciplinary action for the first time! These guys must normally be so well behaved. I mean being out of line for being involved in another sport - haven�t they heard of drugs, alcohol, violence, accepting bribes - the usual way of spending free time, for top footballers at least.

Maybe we should import Sumo into our school curriculum

[andy-hughes]

It's a culture things - and remember the gao between Western and Japanese culture is about as far as here to Mars.

Sumo has been an intrinsic part of japanese culture for thousands of years, and for a boy to be considered for a career as a wrestler is a massive honour, for him and his family. The notion of bringing disgrace on the art, or his family, would be unthinkable.

Whether in modern Japan it means less remains to be seen, but it is a measure of the respect for the art of sumo that this is the first time this has happened.

We don;t need to adopt the summo wrestling aspects of japanese culture, but the respect for family and tradition would be a good start.