OPEN LETTER TO SEPP BLATTER

Dear Sepp Blatter and FIFA,

I'm an American who has followed football avidly for years.

Overall, the sport is fantastic - but I do hate the players who .... try to get away with things, whether it's falling in/near the box, protesting a foul they committed, pleading for a foul committed against them, deliberate handballs, etc. On the other hand, I have utmost respect for players who only fall down when they've really been hacked or tripped; otherwise, they continue playing, pushing forward for the pass, the shot, or whatever.

I wasn't paying too much attention when Argentina beat England in the semi-finals and Maradonna called it the "Hand of God." My God, he's mocking FIFA and its rules! And now, the same thing has happened with Henry in the qualifying game, France vs. Ireland. Argentina didn't deserve to win then and France doesn't deserve to be in the Finals now.

So, what to do about it?

Being American, you might think that I'd suggest or recommend some kind of video replay. After all, the fans can see it in slow-motion from dozens of different angles and so it could only help the refs, right? God forbid! That would be awful. It works in US football, but it would be the death of football.

What about review after the game and then change the result or call a rematch? This is worse. You don't want to be second-guessing the refs, not like that any way.

More officials? You could have them lining the touch line all the way around but they would still not be able to see everything.

The way I see it, professional football players learn, practice and perfect the art of deceiving the refs and / or "getting away with it." There is no honor on behalf of the players in the game. With Maradonna and Henry and countless other examples, a player does whatever he can to get an advantage. If the refs see an infraction or don't fall for the theatrics of someone like Ronaldo (such a crybaby!), so be it. If not, good for me. In most cases, it's pretty inconsequential. But, in some cases, it's catastrophic and egregious.

So, my proposal is to make football an honourable sport again, put the responsibility back on the players. It might take some time for the players to fully buy into it and it might be messy during that time, but after that, it would be smooth sailing.

Consider the following:

After every international match, friendly or otherwise, have a full video review. A list of infractions could be decided on in advance: protesting a call which is clearly deserved, complaining that a call should have been made when clearly none was deserved, falling down when the opponent didn't actually touch you, ball going out of bounds but not seen, hand ball, etc. Obviously, some are more serious than others.

Then, after the game, like students at the end of the semester, players or teams would receive their "final grades" or sanctions. It could be financial but I think it would be better for players to miss games. Or whatever. But something serious enough that players / managers / etc would want to avoid such sanctions.

In the case of Maradonna and Henry, for instance, while the result would stand, Maradonna could have been banned for the World Cup Final and/or the team could have been fined $1 million (it was a pretty blantant foul!) or Henry could be banned for the group stage of the finals. Like I said, something that really will put the team at a disadvantage going forward.

But, and here is what I think is the most important part, *if* a player *immediately* takes responsibility on the pitch and admits what they did wrong, in essence being their own referee and telling the match official, then the correction could be made immediately on the pitch and the player / team would be spared further sanctions.

What Maradonna and Henry did happens. In the heat of the game, when so much is at stake, whether on purpose or not, it happens from time to time. But, the players know 100% what they did is wrong. In fact, most times, I'm sure they're waiting for the whistle to blow. When it doesn't, they smile secretly inside knowing "I got away with it. Cool."

But, if players know that after the game, there will be a video review and these things will be caught and it might cost them a chance to play in the next 3-5 games or it might cost them or their team a lot of money, they will be more likely to confess their sins. And sooner rather than later, we return to a time of honor and taking responsibility in football.

I read an article today in which Mr. Blatter said "It was not Henry's responsibility to inform the ref." That is exactly the problem, as I see it. Because of that statement, you and FIFA foster and encourage players at all levels to try to get away with things during a match.

If you encourage honor and responsibility by imposing different kinds of sanctions, you will have far fewer problems like Maradonna and Henry.

These are my thoughts and mine alone.

I welcome your thoughts and response and do hope that you address this issue in some way.