Bike strike

Victor Lindelof sent a long pass down the right wing from Manchester United's half. Diogo Dalot tried to cross the ball, but got it wrong. It hurtled away behind Alejandro Garnacho as he waited 15 yards out from Jordan Pickford's goal.

But Garnacho was not to be beaten. He turned and took half a dozen steps backwards. Then he leapt into the air and unleashed a bicycle kick. It soared over the England keeper and into the top right-hand corner of the goal.

"It was a jaw-dropping moment," said the former Everton defender Leo Osman. "Everybody was just stunned by seeing a goal of that quality."¹

It is thanks to such moments that soccer is known as "the beautiful game". But does its beauty make it an art?

One definition of art is a "creative activity concerned with... imaginative designs, sounds or ideas". Another is "a skill, aptitude or knack".

Soccer does not involve designs, sounds or ideas. But it obviously does involve skill - and some believe it can be creative.

In some sports which are marked by judges, points are given for artistry. They include gymnastics, diving, figure skating, trampolining and synchronised swimming.

But Professor Jim Parry says not even these sports are artistic. They are much more like bricklaying or cooking. These can involve a lot of skill - "but that does not mean that a wall or a hotdog is a work of art".

Another writer, David Best, agrees. He points out that most athletes would prefer an ugly victory to a graceful defeat.²

But the philosopher Andrew Edgar argues that sport is art because we can use it as a way of describing life.³

Albert CamusA French philosopher and author, born in 1913. played in goal for a football team in Algeria. He went on to become one of France's leading novelists and philosophers. He said that most of what he knew about morality was learned from football.

Yes: It can be beautiful to watch and the best athletes have incredible skill and imagination. Most people would not even think of trying a kick like Alejandro Garnacho's.

No: Any beauty in it is purely incidental - all that matters is winning in whatever way you can. People make great claims about football to excuse the fact that they waste their time watching it.  

Or... The definition of sport has become too loose. There should be no marks for artistry and it is ridiculous that breakdancing is to be included in next year's Olympic Games.