Cheats must pay penalty

LIKE Howard Beale in Network, he’s mad as hell and he’s not going to take it any more.

I refer to the former Republic of Ireland player and manager Eoin Hand, who rang a few of us in the press the other day to let it be known that he had something he wanted to get off his chest.

Eoin had been watching football on the telly earlier this week, as you do, when something happened on the pitch which so enraged him that he was moved to put pen to paper. Stressing that, in this context, he is wearing neither his FAI nor his RTÉ hat, here is what Eoin has to say: “Over the past few years I have been appalled by the continuous lowering of ethical standards in top-level football in the UK. Having earned my living there in the professional game since 1964, I feel I’ve earned the right to pass strong commentary, and in the process, make an impassioned plea to our young players here in Ireland.