Why Football Will Never Be a Clean Game Anymore Unless...

If you're a young kid and you've watched the World Cup qualifying match between France and Ireland, you would have come from the game thinking that its all right to use our hand to handle the ball, as long as the referee doesn't see it. After all, Thiery Henry did it, and FIFA stood by and didn't do anything. So, cheating is all right in football.

Players diving. There used to a cannibal by the name of Roy Keane who used to terrorize referees, thinking he was great. Did he actually know how that made him look to everyone else - a big bully. And people don't like to mix with bullies. Contrast Roy Keane with Ryan Giggs - clean, honest, polite ad hard working. Giggs is the perfect example of how a footballer is supposed to play and behave, on and off the field. Roy Keane is the reason players like Aaron Ramsay cant play football for the next couple of months or years, who knows.

Young players learned from all this. Showcross probably learned from Keane just like how some kid will now learn from Henry and feels its all right to use your hand and cheat as long as the referee doesn't catch you. It doesn't matter that the public and the whole world saw it, you're cool if you're able to fool the referee.

FIFA is right when it said that the referee should have the final say in the game. My take on it is that if you want referees to have the final say in the game, then referees should be allowed to consult video replays for critical decisions in the game. Have the referee wear a portable tv on his watch (James Bond style) that will allow him to review the game and decide. Then players like Henry will know that cheating is not acceptable in the game. And you cant run away from your actions.

Save the game. Players are whoring it.