Respect in the game needs a shake-up

Beckenbauer and co's insistence on pre-match ritual is admirable, but misplaced

PlayUp


Nobody can quarrel with Franz Beckenbauer when he says that, "Honour has to be more than just a word," on the field of play. As chairman of the FIFA task force 2014 rules he is keen to launch a FIFA-backed global campaign to reinforce the Fair Play Code saying, "We want to harness the power of football in a campaign focusing on fair play and make an active contribution to school life by founding our actions on the values of discipline."

But I am not sure the Kaiser is right when he thinks that the way to do this is for players to meet their opponents at the centre of the field of play and shake hands. The handshake in football has become a ceremonial show piece that means nothing. As for influencing schoolchildren I doubt if it can play any part. More so as they see on television the perfunctory way the players go about it. It is so evident they treat it as a ritual devoid of any value.