THEFrench men's team is particularly heckled, even heavily criticized, for her behavior after her victory against theUruguayThe cause was a little choreography by the French players just after the victory in three sets of Lively / Guichard, concluded with a double 6/0 in the second and third sets, where we see them miming the two wheels of a bicycle to represent this unassailable score.

Since then, on the Social Media, criticism is mounting, judging that the French team should never have adopted such an attitude after this decisive match.

Should we really blame the French team for these actions? I'll give you my opinion, which I know will not be shared by everyone.

https://twitter.com/padelcerveza/status/1851284111513579836

Let's summarize the situation:

First, according to Internet users, the France did not have to celebrate in this way, given the gap in level with theUruguay. Sure, France won the deciding match in three sets, but it was France itself that found itself in this situation, and Internet users believe that it could have shown more restraint.

Another point raised on social media concerns the respect for opponents. Many consider that the Uruguayan players were particularly “valiant” and that the French, by miming the two wheels to symbolize the two 6/0, made fun of Uruguay. Some commentators even hope to see teams like theSpain (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and the Argentina act in the same way towards France to observe their reaction in the event of a future confrontation in this World Cup.

My opinion :

It is important to note that the French team was afraid of losing, even though they were the favorites in this confrontation against Uruguay. After losing the first set in the third match, the players had to mobilize to take the lead. To say that Uruguay played well and came close to creating a surprise is not a lack of respect for the French team. Indeed, even if France had a margin, Uruguay fought until the end.

The French team made a mistake in their behavior, but this should not be interpreted as a lack of respect. This type of gesture is more of an internal game within the French group, or even a form of friendly “joking” towards their own partners, who were ultimately not so far from a poor performance. It was a way of releasing the pressure and expressing relief after a narrow victory. The defeat of the pair Blanqué / Leygue was clearly not on the agenda, which added to the tension.

However, at the end of the match, the players represent the French team, and this choreography was undoubtedly excessive in this context. This clumsy celebration must be taken with hindsight and a lot of second degree, without any intention of disrespecting theUruguay, especially after such a hard-fought encounter. This controversy will probably die down quickly, but it could certainly serve as experience for this young French team for the rest of its adventure.

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.