It was a disgraceful act, admits Daily Telegraph

Editor's note:
Rarely, very rarely the English media admit their own team's shortcomings and dishonesty. The Daily Telegraph argues for some timely reforms in football in the aftermath of Peter Crouch's Hair of God goal against Trinidadd and Tobago. Read the Daily Telegraph story.

Battle against cheats requires real deterrent
By Bob Wilson, The Daily Telegraph, London
Ever since Diego Maradona's infamous 'Hand of God' went unpunished and set Argentina on the way to knocking out England at the 1986 World Cup, footballers across the globe have been quite happy to bend or breakthe rules in order to advance their team's cause.
The furore that surrounded little Diego's 'cheating' continues to this day, especially in England, since it was Bobby Robson's team on the receiving end and England had to pack their bags for home as Argentina went on to become world champions.
Strange, then, that the equally disgraceful act administered by the hand of Peter Crouch on Trinidad and Tobago's Brent Sancho, which allowed him to head England into the lead on Thursday with time running out, has received minimal coverage.
Crouch clearly grabbed Sancho's dreadlocks, turning the defender's head by the action, and leaving him with an easy nod beyond Shaka Hislop.
Understandably, it has left a sour taste in the mouths of the Trinidad and Tobago squad.
So is cheating ever acceptable, and where are we in this technological age with regard to the 'fairplay' diktat so widely publicised by Fifa, Uefa, the Football Association and every other footballing authority?
There have been signs of improvement in refereeing standards during this tournament. Clearly the officials have been told to punish with a caution any sign of shirt-pulling, tugging and diving.
Equally, the players appear to have been informed of the intention to punish even the slightest suggestion of a two-footed tackle. Although the diktat does not appear to apply to hair-pulling, players are less prone to grabbing opponents than they were in 1998 in France, and 2002 in Japan and South Korea.
Only out of desperation are they reverting to the old methods and, yes, at 0-0 with just seven minutes to go, England and Crouch were desperate.
Although shirt-pulling is now less prevalent, I still think players should be punished retrospectively when caught on camera: one caution point each time an offence occurs, three points representing a one-game ban.
Without this threat, players will never stop taking a chance. In the case of Crouch and similar offenders, where a goal has resulted with the referee failing to spot the infringement thegoal should stand, but the offender should receive an automatic three points and instant ban.
Then there is the sensitive subject of 'simulation'.
Players of all32 competing nations are still guilty of rolling over and over in an attempt to get an opponent booked, and referees haven't a chance of correctly calling right from wrong. Within seconds, 99 per cent of the 'injured' players are back on their feet and running freely.
This is cheating and, while I am not advocating a return to the days of Ron Harris, Norman Hunter, Nobby Stiles and Peter Storey,who tackled with real venom, at least in those days the offended parties were real men who got up and got on with it.
Thankfully, all two-footed tackles warrant a red card, even if the ball is won. That's because careers are in jeopardy.
The dismissal of Pablo Mastroeni of the USA on Saturday night was a good example. Despite the three red cards, I thought the Uruguayan referee had a good game.
Football has always been a physical encounter in which acceptable bodily contact attempts to counter pure skill. This tournament seems to be awareof the thin line between right and wrong.
All we need now is for those brave people who blow whistles and wave flags to accept that it is time for them to incorporate technology, at least retrospectively, to continue to clean up the game and provide it with an even bigger audience than it already has.