He was invited by the Chinese FA to try to revive the battered reputation of the sport in China - massive match fixing scandals, dozens banned or jailed, and top international players not lasting even one season, have all tarnished it.
"He is such an unbelievable servant to our game and such a brilliant captain and for him to then have his last match tarnished by the whole sorry affair is a great shame for me.
Asked whether that might tarnish the Vatican's image, Father Lombardi said the selection "was the result of a search that lasted months, carried out by competent lay people who know the issues".
What really tarnished the building's reputation as a business location, though, was the parade of restaurants that failed in the 1980's and the fallow times between establishments, which sometimes lasted two years.
Although regulators will prevent Sky from simply picking up the remaining matches currently owned by Setanta if its rival goes under, being the last man standing could tarnish its own attempts to influence the competitive landscape of television.
The White House also defended Gorsuch, saying the whole thing was just a last-ditch effort to tarnish Gorsuch's reputation and cast doubt on his legal rigor.
The debut of "Joe Buck Live" last June was tarnished by the profane outburst of the comedian Artie Lange.
Let his be the last partisan political prosecution to tarnish our democracy, and set him free to be with his children.
His great gifts, unselfishness, and social charm made him everywhere respected, and the scandal that clouded his last years has done nothing to tarnish his reputation.
As a rookie, Sanchez felt obligated to interact with every last fan, as if saying no would tarnish his image.
