We all see – and appreciate – the affection and camaraderie on display after matches between players of two opposing sides, whether in football, cricket, tennis or boxing. Even after one-sided matches resulting in embarrassing defeats (like Arsenal’s 1-4 hammering by Manchester City on Wednesday night), these gestures show us that despite how spectators and fans see it, players see themselves as belonging to the same tribe. But what happens when two players from opposite teams engage in after-match PDA – ‘public display of affection’, for those thinking it to be a technological tool for the referee/umpire – of the romantic kind?
In the Swedish women’s football league, leaders Hammarby met Vaxjo on April 15. Rather predictably, Hammarby hammered the other team 6-1. After the final whistle, the winning side’s goalkeeper Anna Tamminen and Vaxjo player Rosa Herreros (she stayed on the bench as a substitute through the match) greeted each other – with a lingering kiss. Tamminen and Herreros are the things that even Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were not in their prime: a couple. Like the Swedes, we don’t have a problem at all with PDA between two women. But what we do wonder is whether the two footballers will put in 100% when they meet next on the field on opposite sides. This is not bigotry, but a motivational concern we’re airing here.
