Pre-Match handshake nonsense needs to stop.

This weekend saw the shambles of the Terry-Ferdinand incident raise it’s head again. It’s once again made the headlines and left a bad taste in the mouth. Unbelievable really when you think that Arsenal netted 6 this weekend, Manchester United posted a further 4 and Aston Villa recorded their first league victory since the turn of the Millennium. 

The main thing question here is – Do we really need the pre-match handshake any more? 

We all know that the footballers are (mostly) mates off the field and professional on it. I take part in football each weekend at a lower level of course, but even so, the handshake is reserved for after the game. It’s a post-match ritual to say “Well done pal, great game, good luck for the rest of the season.” 

I appreciate that it’s a showing of good will and friendliness before the game, sportsmanship if you will, however it’s become too forced. In this instance, it’s set the tone of the QPR-Chelsea game for the past 3 matches and ruined the coverage of the fixture entirely. Not to mention the prolonged amount of newspaper column inches that has engulfed Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez. 

The point I’m probably failing to get across is, is that the reason these players appearing on the back pages so much is that the media and The FA are setting them up for a fall. If I’ve had a spat with someone during one of my Saturday league matches, I probably won’t shake his hand at the end, I don’t have to and he won’t care if I do or don’t. No fight will ensure, no bad mouthing will occur. Life will go on. 

If the guys I’ve mentioned in this blog want to sort things out, they will. It’s not up to the media or The FA to force them to do so. Let’s ditch the pre-match handshaking and let’s just get on with the football. If they want to shake at the end, they will. 

***Please note, this is not an article about racism or insinuating that any racist acts are ok – I just love watching and reading about top quality football, not fighting. 

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