The Cheats are Prospering

 Now, let’s admit something for a start, we’ve all cheated at something. In school, we’ve all had a crafty look over your mate’s shoulder in a spelling test. In a game of football, everyone has done their fair share of Diego Maradona impressions and leapt over an opponent’s out-stretched leg in the penalty box to make yourself look like an extra from Platoon.
But who does a sneaky dive in a kick-about affect? Nobody, apart from an aggrieved mate who may hold a grudge for a few days. But when it creeps into the professional arena, and starts to cost people serious money, it becomes the talk of the town. Heated debates ensue as to what should and shouldn’t be done to eliminate cheating in sport but this debate has one simple conclusion: you can’t.
 But what can be done is making an example out of people who cheat. Let’s go back to November of last year, and to the Stade de France in Paris. The Republic of Ireland football team were just a few minutes away from upsetting all the odds and beating the mighty France to reach the World Cup Finals. However, as another French free-kick looked like floating harmlessly out of play, Thierry Henry pretty much caught the ball, shovelled it back into play and crossed for William Gallas to head France’s winner. Now, given Henry was shielding the ball from the referee’s view, there cannot be too much blame attached to him. But, Henry came out after the game and admitted he had done it! There you go FIFA, a sure-fire case of cheating and a chance to stamp your authority on the offender right before a huge tournament. Go on, show people that you aren’t to be messed with. The options were there: replay the match? Ban Henry? But what did the all-powerful football suits do about it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not even a slap on the wrist. FIFA chief Sepp Blatter even joked about it! Their handling of the incident was a cold-blooded insult to Irish players and fans alike. Ireland got a sense of justice as France went on to enjoy a miserable World Cup, but all this begs the question, is it any wonder the cheats are prospering?
 It’s not just football either. Sports like cycling and athletics are riddled with drugs cheats. Just recently, three Nigerian athletes had their Commonwealth Games gold medals stripped after failing drugs tests. Dwain Chambers, the British sprinter who once had the world at his feet and was tipped to win Olympic gold in Athens 2004, was found to be taking the banned steroid THG. He was banned from the Olympics for life. Former Tour de France winner Floyd Landis recently admitted that he had been using banned substances for the majority of his career. And then there was the great Marion Jones, the American athlete who dominated every single event, from the 100m to the long jump. She was the real deal, and had five Olympic medals, countless world titles and world records to prove it. But last year, she admitted using performance-enhancing drugs, and every single one of her titles was stripped from her.
 There is however a common denominator to all of these stories is that all athletes can still legally compete. And here, ladies and gents, is where the problem lies. These cheats operate on a policy of “Ah, who’s gonna know?” Random drugs tests are, I’m afraid, not enough. Every single competitor for every single sport should, in my opinion, be tested before every single event. And if they are found to be cheating, they are thrown out of the sport for life. They will soon think it’s not worth it when their livelihoods are affected. But, until something is done, there will always be cheating in sport.

Share on Facebook