Do you believe in a mercy rule in sports? [Poll]

One of the bigger story lines to come out of the World Cup Soccer tournament was the humiliating defeat of Brazil at the hands of Germany.

However, it could have been made much worse, according to German star Mats Hummels.
It turns out that he and his teammates agreed at halftime to go easy on the Brazilians once Germany were up 5-0.

Five to nothing is considered a beat down in soccer – and even if it seemed all but impossible for the Brazilians to come back – I think the news that Germany vowed to go easier on their hosts is more humiliating.

According to this:

As bad as Brazil's embarrassing World Cup exit was, German star Mats Hummels suggested it could have been much worse than the 7-1 final score.

The Nationalmannschaft defender claims that he and his teammates agreed at halftime of Tuesday's semifinal to take it easy on the beleaguered host nation once they went up 5-0 before the 30-minute mark.
"We just made it clear that we had to stay focused and not try to humiliate them," Hummels said, according to The Daily Mail.

"You have to show the opponent respect and it was very important that we did this and didn’t try to show some magic or something like this."

Despite Germany's dominating performance, Hummels attributed the result to a "bit of luck."
"We know we are one of the best teams in the world but you always need a bit of luck and for us it was a good day."

No doubt a good day for the Germans and a lousy day for Brazil.

But do you think the Germans were “respect” for the Brazilians in holding back?

Not me. I’m seeing pity.

If the Germans felt they had more in the tank, they should have played full on!

Since when is there mercy in sports – unless it’s among kids – and even then it’s frowned upon.

Should the German team have held back against Brazil in the World Cup semifinal?