Arsenal & Croatia striker Eduardo da Silva was (predictably) booed by England fans during last night's World Cup qualifying match at Wembley stadium (England won 5-1). Eduardo was recently found guilty by Uefa of "deceiving the referee" (aka "diving") during Arsenal's Champions League play-off second leg match against Celtic on 26th August, and the home supporters made it plain he wouldn't get the benefit of the doubt over the incident.
Eduardo was also denied what appeared to be a legitimate penalty claim, which cued cringing (and similarly predictable) comments from the ITV commentator about "swings and roundabouts" and "reputation precedes him".
England 5-1 Croatia
I found it interesting that the same England fans who vilified Eduardo reserved the biggest cheer of the evening for substitute David Beckham. This is the same David Beckham who admitted in October 2004 that that he deliberately got himself booked during a match against Wales.
Beckham's self-induced booking meant he'd be suspended for the next game with Azerbaijan, but the then England skipper knew he was too injured to play anyway. At the time, the Football Association said there wasn't enough evidence to punish Beckham for his actions, but warned him to be more careful in future.
Beckham apologises over booking
Beckham escapes FA booking charge
Yes I'm biased about Eduardo's alleged "deception" - but I also know hypocrisy when I see it...
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