When losing a high-profile game it can be very easy to open up that big book of excuses. The one that has particular chapters such as 'the weather was against us', 'we didn't have enough time to prepare', and the classic 'the ref was against us'.
Well, when Canada were defeated in the semi-finals of the Women's World Cup, they took the complete opposite approach when graciously accepting defeat.
When asked how they felt the breakdown was refereed, the Canadian coach Kevin Rouet replied "it's not about the referee, it's about us". This was then echoed by Canada captain Sophie de Goede when she said "I think she [The referee] did a great job, and all of our referees throughout this tournament have been great, so it's up to us to win the game".
There has been a lot of talk recently regarding official abuse, certainly at the grassroots level there has been a huge impact made on reducing this across the board. Even just last week Wayne Barnes made a point about his performances being brought up when they're least warranted.
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