By Simon Evans
For those weary of players diving in the penalty area, rolling around on the pitch after minor fouls or brandishing imaginary yellow cards in the referee's face, the Women's World Cup has been a breath of fresh air.
The lowlight of the men's tournament a year ago was Luis Suarez's bite on Giorgio Chiellini but beyond that extreme example of unsporting conduct there were plenty of cases in Brazil of players trying to con the referee into a favourable decision.
One year on, the Women's World Cup has been largely, if not totally, free of the kind of gamesmanship and playacting that irritates fans and makes refereeing such a difficult task.
There have been physical games, with crunching challenges, there have been refereeing controversies and there have been some cases of players appearing to ‘go down too easily', but nothing that compares with the antics often seen in the men's game.
FIFA said before this week's semi-finals that their panels had to look at only two cases of potential diving in the tournament and that the number of fouls per game was around two thirds of the level in Brazil.
In terms of disciplinary action taken by referees there is little difference between the two World Cups. There were 2.8 yellow cards per game for the men and 2.1 for the women.
But the numbers do not truly reflect the gulf in sportsmanship between the two genders on the field.
LESS CHEATING
Briana Scurry, the World Cup winning goalkeeper with the United States in 1999, who made 173 appearance for her country, believes there is no doubt that the women's game involves less cheating.
"In some parts of the world you have a little diving, or flopping in men's soccer -- and I really don't think you have that as prevalent in those same countries in women's soccer --and you don't have it at all in the rest of them," she told Reuters.
Scurry believes one explanation for the difference is that women still get fewer chances to shine on the big stage and so they are focused purely on displaying their talents.
"I think it is a mentality in a lot of the countries, the U.S. included. Women don't have as many opportunities as men do to play the sport at a really high level. So I think they take that opportunity so when they are playing they are trying to just express themselves and be the best that they can be - and flopping doesn't reflect that," she said.
Tatjana Haenni, FIFA's Deputy Director of Competitions and Head of Women's Football, agrees and notes that the smaller focus on the women's game, from the media and fans, leaves the sporting spirit intact.
"I think women players want to play. They enjoy the game, they enjoy being here. It is every four years the highlight of their careers. They don't have the media pressure and all of that. It is just a different world for female players. It is a different culture.
"Their daily life is different back home. They don't play in front of so many spectators, they don't get that much (money) and I think that has an influence -- they enjoy the game."
GAME CHANGING
But the women's game is changing.
Television viewing figures for this tournament have seen significant growth, which has attracted greater media coverage and is likely to bring an increase in sponsorship deals and investment in the game.
The developing women's leagues, in Europe, Asia and North America are starting to attract more attention and some of the big professional men's clubs, such as Paris Saint Germain, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, are committed to women's teams.
Haenni, who played in the Swiss league and for the Switzerland national team, worries that the positive trends for the women's game could result in a move towards ‘gamesmanship'.
"Probably there is a trend the more professional they become, the more money in the women's game, the more we go in that direction. We will we see."
Certainly there are plenty of examples in sport of where the move from amateur or semi-professional standards to high-paid professionalism has brought with it some unpleasant side-effects.
"I hope not," says Scurry, "I hope it doesn't change."
"I do feel right now that it is somewhat intrinsic to the women's game. I just don't see it changing."
(Reporting Simon Evans; editing by Clare Lovell) OLGBSPORT Reuters UK Online Report Sports News 20150702T173546+0000