Time to crack down on the football cheats

The National staff

• Last Updated: November 10. 2009 8:41PM UAE / November 10. 2009 4:41PM GMT

This weekend, two blatant incidents of unfair went not only unpunished but the opposite club got rewarded.

Manchester United's Jonny Evans may not have been deliberate in kicking Didier Drogba high up in the chest and the Chelsea striker did not help his cause either by his antics when he fell down. Still the referee waited for five minutes before giving him the yellow card.

In these days of advanced technology where television footage from all angles can be replayed almost instantaneously, getting to the actual provocation should be easy.

Sadly, steps are not being taken by the FA or Fifa to curb cheating other than handing out punishments only when a player is 'spotted' committing the ugly feat.

Liverpool's David Ngog dived well to get his team out of jail and his earned penalty saved his coach Rafa Benitez's job. The coach admitted it was cheating and was embarrassed about it.

Rafa's admission was a rare occasion among coaches to disapprove their players' tendency to resort to unfair means. But is that enough to improve the quality of supervision during games and also act as deterrent for the players?

Let us know what you think.