It was always going to be tough for the England soccer captain David Beckham to convince a cynical public that he was smarter than he looks, but his decision to prove his intelligence by owning up to deliberately getting booked in England's 2-0 victory over Wales last Saturday is looking dumber by the day.
On Wednesday the England captain was forced to issue a grovelling apology after his revelation that he had fouled Welsh full-back Ben Thatcher deliberately in the closing minutes of the game drew widespread condemnation.
After England's 1966 World Cup hero Geoff Hurst said on Tuesday that his conduct "brought the country into disrepute," yesterday the referee who delivered the controversial card questioned Beckham's actions, and was joined by the president of football's world governing body, FIFA, and the world's greatest player, Zinedine Zidane.
Beckham's rationale for seeking the booking was straightforward enough, but his attempt to explain why he did it has brought him acute discomfort to go with the pain from the broken ribs he suffered in the match.
Rune Hauge, the Norwegian referee who booked Beckham, said yesterday: "It is not correct to do that. He is the [England] captain and he is a star. Many young players look up to him. It's not good for him to think and act like that."
Zidane, Beckham's Real Madrid team-mate, said: "I don't understand this ... I thought he was a nice guy."
FIFA president Sepp Blatter will demand a report into the incident: "David Beckham is an ambassador for football ... therefore I am very disappointed about his behavior."
It all left the Beckham PR machine crunching into reverse. On Wednesday night this statement was released: "I now know that was wrong and apologize to the FA, the England manager, my team-mates and all England fans for this. I have also apologized personally to my manager Sven-Goran Eriksson."
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