18 Aug 2009Gamesmanship is "killing football", Sir Alex believes

Football Referees, Players, Managers and Media

The unsportsmanlike habits of modern footballers are slowing "killing the game", Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed.

Speaking prior to his side's season opener against Birmingham City, the Manchester United manager expressed his belief that, rather than the referees, it is the professional players who are ruining the modern game, as they are becoming increasingly willing to use gamesmanship in order to win.

As an example, he stated his fear that players are now opting to put the ball into touch when a team-mate goes down so as to break up the opposing team's attack.

"The problem is how much the referee can tolerate when the players go down," Sir Alex said.

"There is no doubt it has been exploited to ridiculous degrees now. I don't know how to stop it. If the players don't put the ball out they get stick off the opposition and the fans, so they put it out."

Sir Alex's comments echo the feelings of many fans, with 41 per cent of those polled in a recent Football Fans Census Survey citing cheating and diving as the most important issue facing football.

This made it the most pressing concern of supporters, with players' wages, the changing nature of football from sport to marketing commodity, the league/club wealth gap and levels of debt within the game making up the remainder of the top five.

Meanwhile, the Manchester United boss has been left worried over his defence, with Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans due to miss the mid-week trip to Burnley.

Written by Tom Jenkins

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