Foul or fair play?

I've hardly ever been accused of being a selfish player on the field. Assisting a goal is what truly gives me satisfaction. I would rather pass the ball to my teammate, even while standing in front of an open net, than score the goal myself. This is who I am as a player. However, to reach such moments, I often try to dribble past defenders when I see the opportunity. Sometimes I successfully get past a couple of them, and other times I am stopped because my dribble gets predicted.

Perhaps it was my frequent attempts to dribble past multiple players that led to me being labeled as a 'selfish player.' It might also be the frustration of the defenders trying to stop me that resulted in me being fouled 13 times last Saturday. This happened while I was playing against my amateur friends at 1 am in the morning at a farmhouse we had booked for a BBQ party

The story goes as follows: We are a group of 21 school friends who plan a BBQ meetup every year. It's a mandatory gathering where we all try to meet at least once annually. During this party, we catch up with each other, enjoy delicious BBQ, and spend the entire night together, away from the tensions and responsibilities of daily life. This year, we booked a farmhouse for the night where we all gathered.

While some of the boys, who had no interest in football, were looking after the BBQ, 15 of us headed to the small field where only futsal could be played. I divided these 15 boys into three teams of five players each, and the rule of the tournament was that the winner stays on the field. Whichever team scored two goals first would be declared the winner.

I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say that the player with the most experience, who generally plays the best among the rest, is often given a role of authority to decide what will take place. I was assigned that role momentarily, and I decided the rules for the tournament. We chose our players, and it was time for the first game of this mini-tournament.

The match started, and to be very honest, it was becoming quite easy for me to dribble past the other team’s players. I scored a goal within 3-4 minutes, and then we started toying with the defenders. The atmosphere began to heat up, and the friendly nature of the game quickly dissipated as things started to get dirty.

This is when the incident happened. My keeper threw the ball towards me, and as I controlled it with my chest and turned around, a defender bumped into me with his elbow straight into my jaw. Keep in mind, this 'defender' is a really good friend of mine. I immediately went to the ground. The pain was unreal; I felt as if my jawbone was breaking. It was agonizing. As I looked up, expecting the game to be stopped, I was surprised to see that the opposition team paid no heed to what I considered a foul and kept on playing.

I was absolutely furious and lost my mind completely. Despite complaining multiple times, they were adamant about not calling it a foul and started gaslighting me into believing it wasn’t a foul. I was so angry that I started cursing my friend and told him that I’d kill him (we made up after the game).

When the game ended, I showed them the video. Some of them then admitted that it was indeed a foul, while the defender was still adamant that it wasn’t. I’ll let you all decide.

_{watch the full video}

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I wasn't satisfied why wasn't thus given a foul, still ain't. Maybe I'm behaving like a crybaby, but I want to take opinions from some steemians here who watch footbal. @the-gorilla @sbamsoneu what do you think?

Similarly I was fouled a few other times (according to me) but none of these fouls were given and I was once again labeled as a crybaby.

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Anyway, in the first game, the anger was building inside me, and this led to our second goal. I scored it by humiliating the defender who had bumped into me earlier. My frustration turned into determination, and I dribbled past him with ease before sending the ball into the net.

The second game was also an easy victory for us. Our team was in sync, and we played with confidence and skill, scoring two quick goals to secure the win. However, in the third game, which we played against the first team for the second time, things didn’t go as smoothly. The match was intense, and both teams were giving their all. Despite our best efforts, we lost 2-1.

After the loss, I decided to take some rest in the pool. The cool water helped to calm my nerves and soothe my frustrations. It was a refreshing break from the heated matches, and I reflected on the games while floating in the pool.