The reason why Association Football (soccer) is so popular is the injustice of it. Of all major games played in the world it is the game where the best team is least likely to win. Every spectator can walk away from a game convinced that they were robbed by the referee, the linesman, the weather, the ball, and any other conspiracy theories. England were famously ROBBED of a win in the days of goal posts being made of rectangular pieces of wood, a round post would have put the ball in the net. No one likes the play acting, but it works and gets decisions, like the goal against Manchester United ruled out by the video referee for a foul in the build up. If a goal hadnt resulted no one would say it was a foul. There you see, injustice and a pro Man U conspiracy theory. Leicester fans will dine out on that for at least 2 weeks. Most is to do with it being a professional sport with millions at stake on a game. In the formative years of football, the "Corinthians" who put sporting fair play above all things, didnt believe in the concept of a penalty kick. To award a penalty for a deliberate foul
was a serious slur on a mans character. The Corinthians was a London club but popularised the game around the world and present day Brazilian side FC Corinthians Paulista are named after them.