Last Wednesday, Miroslav Klose did something that is unfortunately very rare, if not unique, in football these days.

The Lazio striker used his arm to score against Napoli, but was quick to point this out to the referee who had not seen the foul and had allowed the goal to stand. The incident happened in the third minute, and if the goal had been given, Lazio would have started the game on an excellent note, and this would have probably changed the course of the game.

That Lazio ended up losing 3-0 gives even more weight to the action of the German forward, who was applauded by the whole of the San Paolo Stadium for his gesture. Napoli and Lazio both started the season well, and the game decided which of them moved closer to the top of the table.

After the match, Klose explained that he felt he could not do otherwise. Lazio fans may be disappointed that their team went on to lose the game, knowing that Klose’s goal could have changed the match. But they now know – and the whole football world now knows – that the German striker believes that cheating is not the way to win a game.

It is a far cry from what happened last season, when Juventus and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said that he would never tell a referee that the official had made a mistake, if that mistake was of benefit to his team. This happened after a Muntari goal for Milan in their clash against Juventus – the ball had clearly crossed the line but this was not seen by the officials – was not awarded. Juventus were losing 0-1 at the time but went on to equalise the game, a result thought by many to have been crucial for Juventus’ quest to win the scudetto.

Buffon’s comments had enraged many football fans in Italy, with many of them calling for the Italian federation to remove Buffon from the captaincy of the national team. But nothing had been done about it. Buffon had not even been reprimanded for the stand he took.

It is hoped that there will be more players like Klose. Too often, players try to gain advantage from anything that happens in the game and often resort to cheating, such as by simulating a foul in the penalty area. Several times, referees fall into the trap and many games have been won and lost in this way.