Let's just get on with the game

As we roll ever deeper into October, the blissful sporting summer of 2012 now seems to be fading into the distant past. The heady days of Mo Farah winning his two Gold medals, Chris Hoy becoming our greatest ever Olympian and George Michael mercilessly plugging his new single during the Olympic closing ceremony are now only memories, which I am sure we will all treasure forever. But now the London 2012 banners and merchandise have been taken down and have inevitably been banished into some time capsule in the Blue Peter garden; football, the ugly sister of British sport, is now taking centre stage once again. And once again, it is making headlines for all the wrong reasons.  

The John Terry/Anton Ferdinand row is fast becoming the never ending story, as a new thread seems to emerge on this sorry episode week by week. The latest plot twist involves John Terry’s fellow media pariah Ashley Cole, who landed himself in hot water by branding the FA a ‘#BUNCHOFTWATS’ via his twitter account after the governing body called into question the evidence he gave during their investigation of Terry, who has been charged with racially abusing Ferdinand.  Yes, Cole was foolish for responding to the FA’s reaction in that way, as he must have known the ‘twitterverse’ would have been going apoplectic with rage at his latest outburst. Yet, unlike some of the Rottweiler’s in the media who are thirsty for Cole’s blood, I feel sorry for him.

 Despite the controversies that has followed the left back throughout his career, the majority of people agree that he is one of England’s genuine world class players. This  in-turn makes him one of the countries leading black footballers and a role model for youngsters in the black community. So why on earth would he defend John Terry if he knew that a serious case of racial abuse had occurred, but chose to fabricate his evidence? I think and I hope it wouldn't be out of some misguided loyalty to his club. If you ask me it is borderline offensive. The FA have effectively condemned Cole as a liar and for someone who has been racially abused numerous times on international duty with England, and who has fought racism through the Kick It Out campaign, you can understand why he took such umbrage with the FA Independent Commission's report. The Chelsea left back had actually acted with great dignity prior to his much maligned twitter ‘meltdown’ on Friday afternoon. When Rio Ferdinand retweeted a message labeling Cole a ‘choc ice’ after he gave evidence on behalf of Terry at Westminster Magistrates court in July, he made no complaint. In-fact, he actually made a statement saying that he hoped Ferdinand would not be charged and that it was probably just a misunderstanding. But Cole did not receive any plaudits for responding to the insult in such a manner and Ferdinand was given a fairly easy ride by the press, not that I feel he should have been put in the stocks anyway. However, if the shoe was on the other foot, I imagine it would be a lot different.

So, despite the fact that the press try to convince us all that they are even handed, they are clearly not. I am not saying they have helped themselves over their careers but John Terry, Ashley Cole and Joey Barton easily bare the brunt of most of the media's venom. Why was Rio Ferdinand given an easy ride (well compared to what the above three would have had) by the press in the wake of his choc ice comment? Ryan Giggs, the golden boy of the Premier League era, hasn't escaped controversy. He had a Super injunction taken out to stop the press reporting on his affair with model Imogen Thomas and it was later revealed that he had an eight year affair with his brothers wife. Yet, that blot from Giggs career seems to have been wiped from the memory, but the same cannot be said of Cole and Terry's extra marital trysts. I am personally glad for Giggs that the public and media have let that storm pass and instead choose to talk about his glittering career, yet it also reeks of double standards. But this isn't an article driven out of club loyalty attempting to further ignite the tribal rivalry that so often tarnishes the beautiful game. To be frank, I love football, I don’t care about the garbage littered around the media. When I phone up a plumber to come and fix my boiler, I pay for his services because he is good at his job. I don’t care whether he is having an affair with Sheila from down his local. By the same token, I pay to watch Ashley Cole as he is a great footballer, I don’t give a proverbial monkeys if he has played away from home. The only reason we care, is that his ex wife is somehow seen as the modern day Lady Diana, so because of that we should all tut and shake our head at Ashley as he has wronged our ‘national treasure’. In general terms football has a problem and we in the media play a part in it.

Many journalists wax lyrical about how footballers are role models to our children and should be upstanding citizens in society. Yet they are the same ones who crave the controversy and go out of their way to ensure that certain footballers are caught with their pants halfway down their trousers. Why do they think we care? These people are the ones that put footballers on a pedestal as national role models yet they are also the same people who would go out of their way to break them so they can get a front page story. As a lover of football, it leaves me baffled. Of course footballers should not be absolved of blame. Ashley Cole and Joey Barton among others have not always covered themselves in glory, but they are humans, they are going to make mistakes, just the same as actors and musicians do. I want to talk about Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney for the fine footballers they are, not for what they get up to at Manchester United's Christmas party. You won't find the tabloids newspapers saying how disgusted they are when someone from The Only Way Is Essex goes out on a drunken escapade. But if it's a footballer, specifically an England player, well Stop the press! 

So what can we do about these out of control footballers? Well, for starters how about we leave them alone? Wouldnt  it be refreshing if the only time we heard Ashley Cole's name was on a Saturday afternoon. Of course some matters like the John Terry racism trial transcend football, but it is a thought. Maybe if we did take away the cameras and dim the spotlight, footballers would be less inclined to behave 'inappropriately'. Maybe, when the only thing they need to focus on is playing football and not the glare of the media, they can truly be role models.  Of course this will never happen, the papers need column inches to fill and we are now so entrenched in this vulgar celebrity culture that an escape is futile. But if you ask your everyday football fan, I am sure they care more about their teams result on a Saturday afternoon than who their left back is sleeping with.