In a world where footballers constantly fake injuries to get a penalty (cough*Neymar*cough), 13-year-old Beknaz Almazbekov refused to score off the spot as the foul was wrongfully judged by the referee.
The captain of the Under-14 team was awarded with a penalty few minutes before half-time. Almazbekov tried to get past the defender, but in doing so he lost his balance and fell on the ground. The defender made no contact with the player as the replays showed. But the penalty had been given and the referee refused to pay heed to players’ pleas.
In a normal world, the player would have gone on to score a goal and double the lead of his side as it was the referee who made the decision. But the Galatasaray captain refuse to take the penalty which he hadn’t earned and in doing so earned the respect of opposition team.
Touched by the gesture, Instabulspor players clapped and shook hands of the Turkish club captain for showing the true meaning of sportsmanship.
Galatasaray’ın U14 oyuncusu Beknaz Almazbekov için büyük topçu olur deniyor. En önemlisi şimdiden büyük insan olabilmeyi de başarmış. Böyle devam eder umarım. pic.twitter.com/ohL02UrGLg
— Alican. (@alicanozcan_) March 24, 2019
Missing the penalty intentionally did not affect the outcome of the game as the home team went on to win the match by 3-0 along with respect of the visitors. Maybe few international players like Neymar should learn a thing or two from the youngster.
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