Why men and women shouldn't play soccer together

A mixed soccer game took place in Iran a week ago and the authorities were none too happy. 

TEHRAN, Iran - The first mixed soccer game - females versus males - since the 1979 Islamic revolution led to swift punishment Monday as six individuals were suspended and fines C$15,000 were issued.

Iran’s strict Islamic rules ban any physical contact between unrelated men and women, and Iranian women are even banned from attending soccer games when male teams play.

Three officials with the men’s team - a coach and two managers - were suspended after first denying the game took place. But video clips on cellphones of the game were used as evidence against them, the Vatan-e-Emrooz daily newspaper reported.

Esteghlal, one of Iran’s top two soccer clubs, said its disciplinary committee suspended two officials for a year while a third was suspended for six months. A fourth official was fined, a report posted on the club’s website said. ...

The Jan. 20 game between the club’s female team and its youth male team in Tehran was the first time in the 30 years of Iran’s Islamic establishment that males and females played soccer together, observers said. [Link]

I don't agree with the punishment, but I'm a firm believer that men and woman should not play soccer against each other. In fact, I've held this belief for more than a decade -- ever since a female player made me look silly during a soccer game. She took the ball away from me, dribbled past me, really hurt my male ego.

It's humiliating enough when another man beats you with a great move. But when a woman does it, well ... you feel like running straight home, taking off your cleats and hammering them into the side of your head.

So how did I get over this? How was I able to look at myself in the mirror again? Well, I reminded myself that female soccer players have a distinct advantage. They have to worry about only one ball. We men, on the other hand, have to protect ourselves.