Maradona, Mourinho … and the Panthers trainer. Welcome to sporting skulduggery

The Age

5 days ago

And we cannot omit Jose Mourinho, who trained his ball boys to slow down games and once hid in a laundry basket to sneak into the Chelsea dressing room during a touchline ban. Nor the NHL's unforgettable 'Fog Game' of May 1975, when the Buffalo Sabres used the pre-game entertainment smoke machines to raise the arena humidity and fog the rink so the Boston Bruins struggled to see (and lost).
Cuban Rosie Ruiz is another step up still, for hopping onto the Boston Marathon course near the end and briefly being declared the female winner. Likewise, rugby union's Bloodgate scandal, when Tom Williams feigned an injury using a fake blood capsule in order for Harlequins to make another substitution late in their Heineken Cup quarter-final against Irish side Leinster.
This stuff is premeditated, like the drone spying by Canadian football officials in the women's Paris Olympics tournament, and the even more serious ball-tampering, match-fixing and doping.
When it comes to the lower-grade stuff, though, perhaps gamesmanship is just a more accepted element of some sports than it is others? And perceptions of seriousness partly depend on what's at stake, in this case, the Titans battling against the wooden spoon and Des Hasler battling for his job?
Further, do bundle deals count for more? Apparently so, based on the NRL's statement that Penrith's 'proposed penalty takes into account previous breaches by Penrith Panthers trainers'. There are four controversies in as many years, including in May when Shane Elford was given a one-match ban (and the club fined $10,000) for squirting water on the ball.
And here's an outrageous thought: is likeability a factor? Are Penrith's trainers just not charming enough to get away with it? Maybe, just maybe, they lack the Alfie Langer charisma? Johnathan Thurston remembers that particular twinkle in the eye well from the closing stages of the 2015 grand final.
North Queensland, trailing by four points as the final siren sounded, scored at the death to level the score at 16-16, setting the scene for Thurston to slot a title-winning conversion.
Langer, the Brisbane Broncos great turned club water carrier, made a beeline for the right touchline where the Cowboys halfback was lining up his kick.
'I remember grabbing the ball, and I was getting towards my set-up when Alfie Langer runs past me, and he goes 'I'll give you $500 if you miss',' Thurston told the Bloke In A Bar podcast in 2023.
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Thurston hit the post, though insisted the sledge did not affect his concentration, and went on to nail a golden-point field goal that secured the Cowboys' maiden premiership.
He revealed he did not demand the $500 Langer promised. Even if he had, it would have been a bargain compared to the $50,000 the Panthers now owe.