The reason the presentation of the FA Cup is so special is because it is so simple. The game finishes, the players celebrate and commiserate and then the losers climb the famous steps to collect their medals, followed by the winners who then raise the cup.
The raising of the Cup has become a moment that is synonymous with the sport. Sadly not all sports have the steps that Wembley has.
In cricket in England it used to be that at the end of an Ashes series the Urn would be presented on the balcony of the pavilion at the ground at which the series was won, be it the Oval, Headingley, Old Trafford or Trent Bridge. Pictures of such moments survive. Today though, the fans are not allowed to run onto the pitch to witness such a moment and in some cases the moment would not be possible with the pavilion at Headingley now no longer used, and the Oval Pavilion’s view obstructed.
Like many sports the presentation now takes place on the pitch and it takes time for the stage to be set up before the ceremony can take place. The efficiency of the organisers varying from event to event and venue to venue.
Television directors in the main hate such moments as all they want to see is the winning team lift the trophy and then go off air, as apart from the FA Cup, most viewers have already turned onto something else once the final whistle has sounded.
At the Hockey World League Final in Raipur on Sunday, the organisers were extremely quick to set up the stage. Yet there were, as is the norm in Hockey, other awards to be handed out before the main one. To save time the bronze medals had been awarded following the bronze medal play off game, an epic won by India in a shoot out against the Netherlands.
There were five individual awards handed out: The fans player of the tournament, the top Goalscorer, the best goalkeeper, the best young player and the player of the tournament. Interestingly only the player of the tournament and the top goalscorer received a financial prize as well as a trophy. One felt sorry for the others.
Following this presentation the Gold medals were awarded to Australia and then the trophy. They had defeated Belgium 2-1 in the final.
All this time the Belgium team had been standing on the pitch waiting to receive their runners up medals. They received these after the television station had gone off air, and after all the celebratory photos had been taken of Australia on the podium with their prize.
No one is quite sure how this turn of events came about, but it was disrespectful to the Belgium team. They had played their part in the tournament. They had only lost two games, their opening game and the final, both to the World number one side, Australia.
They say in sport no one remembers who came second, and that may be true, but that does not mean that they should not have their achievement acknowledged properly.
It was sad that they were overlooked and left to collect their medals as the crowd left and Australia celebrated. Clearly there is a reason why tradition has always seen the vanquished receive their awards before the winners. Let us hope that tradition is restored, as this was no way to treat a team that already had to come to terms with losing a final. Whoever made this decision clearly had never been a losing finalist, to understand the pain that a silver medal carries.
