Former bad boy Neil Ruddock has slammed the diving and cheating that is scarring the modern game.
Ruddock, who revelled in the nickname Razor, was no stranger to controversy during his playing days at Millwall, Spurs and Liverpool where he earned a fearsome reputation on and off the park.
Blackburn striker El Hadji-Diouf recently attracted the worst type of headlines after QPR striker Jamie Mackie suffered a broken leg playing at Ewood Park.
After the match QPR boss Neil Warnock labelled Hadji-Diouf a ‘sewer rat’ for verbally abusing Mackie.
The same weekend Theo Walcott became the rarest of footballers when he admitted to diving to win a penalty against Leeds United in the FA Cup.
The Arsenal forward said: “I thought (referee Phil Dowd) did give the penalty to be honest. I just want to apologise to the managers, I actually dived trying to win the penalty. I said to one of their players ‘would you have done it if it was the last few minutes’ and he said he probably would have done it.
“I’m not the sort of player to do it, I own up to that and I apologise for that. It’s one of those things that I don’t like to see in my game. I’ve heard some people say if you feel just a slight touch you should go down so it can work both ways.
“I’m not happy with myself for doing that but I’m happy that we got the draw in the end, (Alex Bruce) was fine about it.
“Whether he knew if it was a penalty I don’t know but I said sorry I’m trying to win the game. I had a little bit of a laugh and a joke with the referee afterwards saying that’s the first dive I’ve ever done can you tell?”
In his new Football Fancast column Ruddock put the boot in saying: “It is very difficult for an ex professional player to look at modern day football without the odd shake of the head, or questioning how the game has changed in such a short space of time.
“It has changed massively, although in some cases not for the better. I question the professionalism of some current players within the game.
“Don’t get me wrong, off the pitch a lot of the guys are absolute saints – eating and drinking correctly so they stay in peak physical shape and not falling out of night clubs and bars (well some of them), but on it many choose to cheat and disrespect the game, by diving, feigning injury, trying to get opposition players sent off and in short conning the referees and ruining the spectacle for supporters.
“It is becoming far more frequent and I question the personal pride of some of these players.
“Yes I know some will point the finger at perhaps the lack of professionalism of players in my era off the pitch, and in many cases you are right, but on the pitch you couldn’t question it as we played the game in the way it should be played with 100% honesty and commitment.
“We didn’t look to get players sent off, throw ourselves to the ground at the slightest touch, or wave the imaginary cards; we had too much self pride and a respect for the game that is sadly lacking today.
“When I was playing I used to have a huge amount of respect for Thierry Henry, for the way he always attempted to remain on his feet, even after a challenge, and he never looked to show any weakness against the opposition.
“You compare that with someone like Emile Heskey who on occasions would hit the ground at the slightest nudge.
“What is frustrating is that whenever you go around a Premier League training ground you will undoubtedly see hard tackles flying in, physical battles throughout, yet as soon as the weekend comes along that goes out the window, leaving the referees with the thankless task of dissecting what is foul play and what is not.
“Their lack of honesty is destroying the game and in some cases making a mockery of it.”
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Using Thierry Henry as an example of honesty in the game? Riiiiiiiight……..
i agree with the opinions stated,but the chosen example….dont think so