Sport

Strike and never play for England again

Michael Hart|Evening Standard
13 April 2012

David Beckham and the England players should be told forcefully today that they will never again wear an England shirt if they decide upon strike action and refuse to play against Turkey on Saturday.

The option of withdrawing their labour was clearly high on the players' agenda today as they prepared for further talks with the Football Association hierarchy about the axing of Rio Ferdinand for failing to take a drugs test.

This is the bully-boy option that will, in my opinion, further diminish public goodwill towards an elite group of multi-millionaire egotists, some of whom seem determined to drag a once respected professional sport into society's garbage can.

One day a high-profile figure in professional football will actually hold their hands up and admit: "Yes, I did it."

That would do professional football a great service because, if left to the clubs and the players, no one would ever admit to anything.

At the highest level in this country, football is a sport that has tended to ignore dishonesty and cheating in recent years.

Read More

'He will come, 100%': Osimhen tipped to make Man Utd move this month

'He will come, 100%': Osimhen tipped to make Man Utd move this month

Ferdinand makes exciting Man Utd prediction after Carrick appointment

Ferdinand makes exciting Man Utd prediction after Carrick appointment

Injured Jones makes tearful exit as Fearnley loses at Australian Open

Injured Jones makes tearful exit as Fearnley loses at Australian Open

Sponsored
Winter escapes and activities to end the year in style

Winter escapes and activities to end the year in style

The FA, and their new chief executive Mark Palios, have recognised this and probably realise that sporting values in football - the elements that hold the sport together - are now in danger of disappearing altogether.

Such issues appear not to concern the very rich young men who play at the highest level of the national game and conduct their lives in a vacuum totally divorced from the realities of everyday life.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the Ferdinand situation, the FA clearly believe they are justified in taking this action following a breach of their rules. As the guardians of the sport, they have a responsibility to ensure that the rules regarding dope testing, there for the benefit of all, are observed.

The FA may have handled this clumsily but they twice tried to interview Ferdinand between the date of the drugs test and yesterday's announcement of the squad to face Turkey in a vital European Championship qualifying tie. Ferdinand declined to see them. Even had he agreed to see them, the likelihood is that he would have been charged and therefore ruled out of this game.

Ferdinand is popular among his team-mates and it's entirely possible that they don't fully understand the issues involved. Because he passed a second test, I suspect that in their minds they do not appreciate the offence of failing to attend the first test and their only concern is why the FA decided to tell Sven-Goran Eriksson that their mate wouldn't be available to play in Istanbul.

When Ferdinand's four Manchester United team-mates met the four players who form the England council - Beckham, Sol Campbell, Michael Owen and David James - last night they decided to seek the backing of the majority for any action they might take. The entire squad voted to support whatever action their council felt appropriate.

Beckham, hopefully, will be a moderating influence. The wiser heads of the recent past like Alan Shearer, Gareth Southgate or Tony Adams, have gone and Beckham can play a significant role in shaping the thinking of his squad mates. As England

MORE ABOUT

Bullying
Dustbins
Rio Ferdinand
The Super-Rich