Time to tackle rotten soul of beautiful game

THE man in the hat had it right. Cornered by one of Sky’s breathless reporters underneath the Eiffel Tower (of course), the unsuspecting Irlandais – his green fedora cocked at an inappropriately jaunty angle – was asked what diabolic punishments should be meted out to Thierry Henry in the wake of the ‘Hand of Frog’.

We braced ourselves for the hot-blooded, indignant response of the morally aggrieved: an outright boycott of all Gillette shaving products, perhaps, or maybe an organised march to Barcelona, complete with obligatory flaming torches, to daub Camp Nou’s walls with pro-Tottenham propaganda.

But, no, revenge was not on Fedora Man’s agenda.

“It’s not Henry’s fault,” he observed, rather wistfully. “It’s just the way football is. Players will try and get away with what they can.”

He was right and that, in many ways, is the saddest thing of all. Henry’s act of deception was, indeed, stomach-turning but still more devastating was that it did not, in any way, come as a surprise.

The stark, ugly truth of the matter is that cheating is now an endemic part of footballing culture, and whether it is manifested by sneakily flicking out some fingers to set up a goal, a theatrical sprawl to win a decisive penalty, a sly brandishing of an imaginary card towards a referee – an offence, incidentally, of which Robbie Keane was guilty on Wednesday – or fiddling a play-off system to favour teams who produce more pings of a cash register, is essentially irrelevant.

They are all symptoms of a deeper-rooted malaise which has splintered the bond of trust which once existed between those who should be the sport’s protectors – players, managers and governing bodies – and those who consume it so ravenously.

Perhaps it is already impossible to re-forge it. There is now a tacit acceptance of the fact that notions of fair play can be casually tossed aside when three points or a major tournament are at stake, and it was depressing to hear Ireland’s players acknowledge that, had the roles been reversed in Stade de France, they would also have employed whatever dark arts were at hand. But what value or future is there in a sport where duplicity is considered de rigeur and results can be decided simply on the basis on who cheats more effectively?

The urgent need for moral leadership on this issue is beyond debate but it must come not from FIFA, whose mealy-mouthed edicts on fair play sound particularly laughable right now, or the media, whose moral compass points only in the direction of their home nation, but the players themselves.

FOR that to happen, there needs to be a sea change in attitudes.

At present, footballers want to enjoy all the perks afforded by their increased powers – the lucrative contracts, the eye-watering endorsements and celebrity kudos – but shrug off any of the attendant behavioural responsibility.

But that is not good enough.

Supporters are entitled to expect certain standards in the actions of those who lifestyles they help fund and there have been too many instances in recent seasons of players falling pitifully short of those standards.

So, a suggestion. Before next summer’s World Cup finals, the captains of the competing countries assemble and, under the auspices of a small panel of experienced international managers – including, perhaps, Giovanni Trapattoni – draw up a code of conduct to govern their on-field behaviour in South Africa, with transgressions provoking condemnation by the captain of the team in question.

If that sounds limp-wristed, consider the potential embarrassment value of, say, John Terry disowning a blatant dive by Steven Gerrard or Michael Ballack issuing a withering criticism of Miroslav Klose.

Given the negligible effect of fines on men who are already multimillionaires and the practical difficulties of FIFA issuing retrospective suspensions, the opprobrium of their fellow pro may be the only form of punishment which has a meaningful effect.

If it helps prevent just one repeat of Wednesday’s travesty in Saint-Denis, it would surely be worth it.