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| England coach Eriksson at a press conference at the
Hyatt hotel in Baku. Eriksson promised that he would "take care"
of the controversy surrounding David Beckham's booking against Wales later this week.
[Agencies] |
Sir Geoff Hurst has accused David Beckham of
bringing the country into disrepute
.
The 1966 World Cup hero slaughtered Becks after the Real Madrid star
claimed he got booked in Saturday's clash against Wales on purpose.
Beckham excused himself by saying he knew he would miss Wednesday's
World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan through injury.
So he picked up a yellow card - his second caution of the Group Six series - to wipe
his slate clean.
But Hurst said: "You can argue FIFA will think it's a case of bringing
the game into disrepute. I'd argue that Beckham's actions have brought the
country into disrepute. It will set a precedent if FIFA allow something
like this to pass without any action."
 Hurst, 62, the only man to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup
final, added: "I cannot imagine anyone in the 1966 side doing anything
like this. It's not so much a question of what Bobby Moore would have
thought. It's more a question of what Sir Alf Ramsey would have thought if
our great captain had said he had got himself booked or sent off on
purpose.
"I think Alf might have said: 'Thanks, Bobby for all you've done - but
that's it,' and Bobby was a true legend. It saddens and disappoints me both as an
ex-player and as an England fan. It's really poor behaviour. I know some
people will not be surprised by what goes on in the game today but I come
from a totally different line of thought on this."
 Midfielder Becks, 29, was first given the captaincy by caretaker
England boss Peter Taylor for a friendly against Italy in Turin in
November 2000.
He retained the armband when Sven Goran Eriksson took over and has been
skipper for 40 matches, winning 22, losing seven and drawing 11.
Hurst added: "Beckham is very high-profile and enjoys being skipper. So
you'd have thought he would have wanted to set an example before England
went away on a tough trip like this. You would hope your captain would not
be rocking the boat.
"Yes, I know I'm from a different era - a different time socially,
everything. But it can't be right - not today, not last month, not a year
ago, not 20 years ago, not even 40 years ago.
"I feel extremely strongly about this."
(Agencies) | 
Updated: 2004-10-13 09:56