I'm sure there are even instances of the seemingly pious Irish team cheating which is why their hysterical reaction to Thierry Henry cheating last week is so pathetic.

Henry did nothing more than 90 per cent of professional footballers do in every single match. They cheat to gain an advantage whether by diving, feigning injury or wasting time.

They continually try and con referees which is never that difficult as referees are generally hopelesss.

Of course Henry's cheating is right up there with Maradona's as it robbed Ireland of the chance to win a penalty shoot out and contemplate an honourable failure in the group stages of the World Cup.

Henry deserves the horrendous stick he has already received and that he is going to receive in the future, especially after admitting his guilt and suggesting a replayed game would be fair only after FIFA had confirmed such a replay was not possible.

But then the entire footballing profession deserves our disdain for encouraging this sort of behaviour.

Do managers moan at players who have successfully cheated to gain extra points? Did Rafa Beneitez haul David Ngog over the coals for conning a 50 year-old referee the other week to get mighty Liverpool a plucky point against Birmingham? Of course not.

Have the players union and their highly paid chief executive Gordon Taylor ever seriously tried to clean up their members' acts? After all for every act of cheating by one of his members, another of his members has been cheated.

No is again the answer of course. The players union is probably too busy promising to help women-beaters when they come out of prison to worry about the absurd levels of gamesmanship that blight our national sport.

Worryingly many former professionals who now get handsomely paid by the media for offering vacuous soundbites shrugged off Henry's rugby impersonation as 'part of the game'. It's true, but it's sad nonetheless.

The Irish pundits predictably took a different view, particulary Tony Cascarino who slaughtered Henry for his deceit without mentioning the fact that every single one of his own Irish caps was earned by a fraud as he was never properly qualified to play for the country.

Thinking before you speak is a skill lost on most football folk as anyone who watched the last big Posh press conference can testify.

Thankfully deliberate handballs that lead to crucial goals are rare, but they are a natural progression from what happens at virtually every match.

Watching Posh at the moment is extremely frustrating and not just because wins are hard to come by, Speed, strength and organisation are obviously far superior to what Posh are used to, but the standard of cheating is far higher as well.

Just from last Saturday at Bramall Lane there were several examples of blatant manipulation of the laws and the inability of referees to stamp it out.

I saw a Sheffield United player - and remember this is a 'big' club competing against the worst team in the Championship - rolling on the floor holding his face after getting caught on the knee, another unilaterally abandoning the multi-ball system to waste some precious seconds, and others who threw themselves to the ground at the slightest threat of physocal contact.

It took United about three minutes to celebrate their goal, something Posh have also been guilty of this season. I know they haven't had much to cheer about lately, but three minutes of embarrassing routines that would shame Jedward followed by the slow walk back to the centre circle is just the latest time-wasting wheeze allowed by the authorities.

I reckon the law-makers should create one that demands a kick-off 30 seconds after a goal rather then employ useless officials who make the empty gesture of tapping a watch, the Onslow of idle threats.

The substitution of the player furthest from the dug outs is another scheme to waste time and effectively defraud the public who have paid vast sums to witness encounters that are often drab enough without the long periods of inactivity.

Some clubs are even cynical enough to rope impressionable youngsters into their sleazy ways. Some ball boys appear to have been trained to return balls at a rate to suit the home side.

But it probably comes as second nature to the kids anyway. Watch any junior match and count the number of times players appeal for throw-ins they know don't belong to them. Every team at every level from under 11s to the French national team have players who are at it.

Even gestures taken to be acts of great sportsmanship are not all they seem. I still seethe whenever Arsene Wenger's name is trotted out as an example of fair play.

Wenger, the manager of a club who have handed divers a licence to cheat by employing forensic lawyers to contest Eduardo's guilt, famously once offered Sheffield United an FA Cup replay after his players had ignored the unwritten sportsmanlike rule of returning possession after it had been deliberately conceded.

United were minutes away from a replay at Bramall Lane, but rather than offer to stage the re-match away from home, Wenger offered them another 90 minutes at Highbury when the prospect of a home win was long odds-on.

Mind you players now even manage to subvert that particular nod towards sportsmanship. We've all seen players fall down holding their heads knowing that referees will have to stop play or their opponents will be forced to kick the ball out of play - usually these 'injuries' will be sustained when the opposition are about to launch an attack.

MK Dons and West Brom have been particularly adept at that at London Road in the last couple of seasons and there may be a common denominator.

The Irish whinge is misplaced. It's extremely doubtful that Robbie Keane would have admitted to the referee if he had virtually caught the ball and set up a goal at the other end.

Football is a sport where cheats do prosper. Ineffective and self-obsessed leaders of the world game plus incompetent officials will ensure that remains the case for the foreseeable future.

Have your say on Alan Swann's World of Sport by commenting below or emailing alan.swann @jpress.co.uk or send us your opinions now.
--------------------------------

Swanny's fanmail:
SO Posh have a new manager, an applicant who did not even make the top three for a recent vacancy at a much bigger club than Posh, temporarily plying their trade in the Conference.
Once more chairman McAnthony tries to do things on the cheap. At least your non-league players now have a non-league manager whose Conference experience will be handy for you in a few years time!
So when can we expect your insightful article on the real reasons for Fergie's deparature Swanny? And I don't mean Fry's ludicrous suggestions he was tapped up. Who by? Spalding perhaps?
It would seem that my previous correspondence has rubbed up a few of your yokels the wrong way. Perhaps you could remind them that my e-mails were simply in response to some local numpty journalist who likes the occasional dig at the much mightier Hatters.
At least if they are going to have a pop back at me encourage them to have the balls to provide their real name, unlike the Tool on the Hill!
Paul Winston

At last you've seen the light and we agree on something. We both want to see Arsenal win the Premier League.
There's a little bit of Arsenal in us all and now you have been to the 'Home of Football' it will grow on you.
You can take the man out of Arsenal, but you can't take Arsenal out of the man.
Re-your comments on Eduardo though - isn't it strange that the biggest dive this season, by N'gog, has largely been ignored by the media, FA and UEFA?
Is that because he doesn't play for Arsenal?
Mark Baker

Have your say on Alan Swann's World of Sport by commenting below or emailing alan.swann @jpress.co.uk or send us your opinions now.
--------------------------------