FIFA World Cup 2022: Why do football players spit on the field?

We are four days into FIFA World Cup 2022 and there’s already big news emerging from the mega event. From Saudi Arabia’s shock win over Argentina to Iranian players keeping mum during the national anthem, football has been making all the news.

Amid all the drama emerging from Qatar, the one constant visual that football fans are seeing is players spitting on the field while at play. But why do players do it? What purpose does spitting actually serve? How come footballers do it so often, and not other types of athletes?

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We take a closer look at the situation and give you all the answers you were looking for.

Science behind spitting in football

Spitting is a common practice in football. It turns out that there’s some science and performance-building factor behind it and not just players showing their distaste for a situation.

Studies have shown that exercise increases the amount of protein secreted into the saliva, especially a kind of mucus called MUC5B. This makes the saliva thicker, making it harder to swallow. Hence, there are so many visuals of footballers spitting out, even though it appears distasteful.

Dr Udit Kapoor, senior consultant, Asian Hospital, Faridabad was quoted as telling Indian Express that the saliva in the mouth thickens during physically strenuous activities like football matches, which players consider better to spit out. “The thicker saliva makes it harder to swallow. So, it is best to spit it out,” he was quoted as saying.

He added that it’s not just footballers who spit, and even cricketers, and rugby players spit — it’s considered legal in the sport.

Also read: Why Qatar is a controversial host for the 2022 World Cup tournament

Echoing similar thoughts is Joseph Dosu, a former goalie for Nigeria. He has been quoted as saying that footballers spit because “they need something to clear their throat… they make a run of maybe 10 to 15 yards and they need air to breathe”.

There are a few other theories about spitting being a regular occurrence in football. Some say that it’s a case of OCD behaviour, while others believe that it could be a display of masculinity designed to intimidate.

Carb-rinsing

Since the start of the World Cup there have also been visuals of players such as England’s Harry Kane forcefully spraying a drink into his and then spitting the entire mouthful over the nearest patch of bare earth.

However, there’s an explanation to this activity, called carb-rinsing. The basic premise of carb-rising is filling your mouth with a carb-filled liquid, in this instance a sugar and salt-heavy sports drink, activates pleasure and sense receptors in your brain that make it think extra energy in the form of food is on the way. This, in theory, stops your brain from thinking the body is fatigued.

English striker Harry Kane has often been seen on camera carb-rinsing. AFP

Asker Jeukendrup, an exercise physiologist and sports nutritionist, had told The New York Times previously that the practice is similar to tricking the brain a “little bit”. In fact, in a study he conducted with the University of Birmingham in 2004, he found that that carb-rinsing made cyclists about a minute faster in 40-kilometer cycling time trials.

The benefits of carb-rinsing have been espoused by others in the field too. Dr Sourav Poddar, a sports-medicine physician has also been quoted as saying that carb rinsing can boost one’s performance by two to three per cent.

Another study published in the European Journal of Sport Science in 2017 had also found that carb-rinsing boosted performance. The study researched 12 healthy men in their 20s and found that they could jump higher, do more bench presses and squats, sprint faster, and were more alert after carb-rinsing.

Similarly, a study published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found that 12 competitive male athletes experienced less fatigue after carb rinsing.

Why only football though?

Spitting in football is not illegal at the World Cup. However, spitting at someone is a red-card offence.

In other sports such as cricket and rugby too, spitting is not considered illegal. However, there are many who argue that it’s only footballers who are seen spit during matches.

There’s an explanation for this too: Many sports enthusiasts have said that perhaps cricketers are not seen spitting on television because the players are spread so thinly over the ground and there is so much “non-active” time that it is statistically improbable that a spitting player would be caught on television.

Moreover, football players are seeing spitting on screen owing to the style of coverage, —highlighting with a close-up the player who has just made a long sprint to score a goal.

When spitting became the biggest news

Over the years, footballers spitting at their opponents during a World Cup match have grabbed headlines.

Undoubtedly the most famous spitting incident in football came during a World Cup match between Germany and the Netherlands during the 1990 Italy World Cup. Dutch player Frank Rijkaard aimed his spit at Germany’s Rudi Voller after a crunching tackle.

Arsenal’s Patrick Vieira found himself in hot water in 1999 for his spitting incident. He was handed down a six-match ban and a £30,000 fine for spitting at West Ham’s Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock.

Even the game’s great, Cristiano Ronaldo was seen spitting at Derby’s Robbie Savage during a 2009 FA Cup match.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi has also been held guilty of the offence. Back in 2008, he was spotted aiming spit at the back of the jersey of Malaga winger Duda.

With inputs from agencies

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