Why FIFA should kick cheating Capdevila out of the World Cup

By John Cross

Published 23:01 30/06/10

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FIFA president Sepp Blatter deserves great credit for finally moving with the times on video technology.

The next item on the agenda should be cheating. And there is one simple way to stamp it out at this World Cup: send Spain defender Joan Capdevila home right now. Strip him of his accreditation, put him on a plane and fly him home in disgrace.

That would send out the strongest possible message to other cheats, divers and players who want to ruin the beautiful game.

Capdevila went down like a sack of potatoes after his 'tussle' with Portugal's Ricardo Costa in Spain's victory to reach the quarter finals.

Costa was sent off and yet there was minimal if any contact and certainly no elbow in the face.

You have to feel sorry for the referee who was conned by yet another cheat but the officials should not be hung out to dry: it should be the cheats themselves.

Make an example of Capdevila and you can stop it happening again and again just as cheating has played its part in this tournament.

Ivory Coast's Kader Keita should have also been shamed for his play acting to get Brazil's Kaka sent off in the Group stages.

Rivaldo is still remembered as a cheat for his awful play acting, going down clutching his face to get Turkey's Hakan Unsal sent off in 2002. You forget everything he achieved as a player and remember that crazy moment of World Cup shame.

But FIFA are not doing enough to help the referees. The referees need video technology on the goal lines. That was proved by Frank Lampard's farcical "goal" which never was against Germany.

Blatter should not stop at looking at goal line technology. He should also look at outing the cheats from football.

By sending a really hard message against Capdevila it would really help the World Cup, not just this time but in every future tournament.

I really wanted Spain to win the World Cup. They were my tip for the tournament because of the magnificent football they play.

But now I would love to see Paraguay knock them out, all because of Capdevila. What a sad indictment of how a cheat ruins absolutely everything.

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