Gordon Taylor - Chief Executive, Professional Footballers Association HARDtalk

were unfairly treated. Now it is time for HARDtalk.

If football is the world's global sport then sitting atop that, year

after year, is the English Premier League. No other league has the

money or the international following that has transformed it

into the biggest of the lot. But as the new season gets underway, is

football's health a cause for rejoicing? Or does its enormous

wealth contrast with a poverty of good behaviour? HARDtalk's Tim

Franks speaks to Gordon Taylor. What does the boss of the players'

Will come too hot Matt. Are you surprised by the backlash there has

been against football since the Olympics? Are not. I expected it.

We had some problems last year and problems with lyricism. But it has

been a long time since the problems of the 80s with health and safety.

The game has moved on a great deal. It is the price of football has to

pay for being so much in the spotlight. The players have become

celebrities. When they step out of line, there is a very big torch on

them on and off the field. Is it justified? There is a perception at

times that you forget. In the replace you never have any problems

and others to always seemed to be in trouble. -- who always seemed.

Should footballers be role models? The Olympics were really uplifting

but that is once every four years and for two weeks. Football is

woven into the tapestry of our social history. We have good times

and also bad times. But it is more than personal bad times?

fairness with the Olympics, it was brilliant to see the inclusive

nature of the opening ceremony. The still had your problems like with

Badminton. But those were the exception. How much do you have

sympathy with the view of a sports writer Mike James Lawton who said

that -- said, "Lets hope Arafat's of overpaid footballers have been

watching the games." any sympathy with that? No. He makes his living

from watching football, it has always been there for him. He has

written books on football. So he knows what he's talking about.

does, but he is at times like myself. Sometimes, you forget that

even in his day, there were the characters who did not get lone

don't like the modern media dollars. -- lampooned. If anything, Tommy

Smith and Norman Hunter were idolised. I do understand the

contrast with the sporting nature of the Olympics and football can

learn from that. We can't be in an ivory tower and not see the effect.

But we saw around may when football came together because football is

very tribal. At times, I have referred to problems in the 80s

when that blew up and everyone said, we will never deal with hooliganism

and racism. We have worked at that. Players, staff, her crowds all got

behind Fabrice Muamba in support. People have not forgotten the

affair with John Terry and the allegation that he racially abused

a black player. There was a criminal trial a few months ago and

he was found not guilty. He is currently facing a misconduct

charge for racist behaviour. What do you think should happen to him?

I don't want to comment. They have a new code of conduct now, but on

the other hand, you have to be careful with litigation. It was

almost ironic that the Crown prosecution Service chose to say,

hold off. I feel we should deal with these matters. Often the

penalties are much worse than any court imposes. I want to get to the

ways Suarez. The fine is so much heavier than any court imposes.

Piano asking specifically about John Terry. He was selected to play

for England last week. Roy Hodgson said he had no interest in a debate

as to whether he should be plain. The EU agree it is immaterial

whether he be selected now for England? I think it is a very

difficult one. I think taking the captaincy of him was something they

need to do. When you have seen how protracted that process became

because they all got involved, suddenly, the main court did not

find him guilty. It has impacted on the judgement of the manager

because they took the captaincy of them. I'm asking what your view is.

It is difficult to take a player out of 18 no matter what the

charges. -- out of a team. This is a charge of races them. I remember

when there was a charge against Alan Smith. In relation to the

crowd. He was left out of the team as a result. Then he was found not

guilty. The quality of justice is very hard to get right. What should

happen to players found guilty of racism? It -- it depends on

circumstances of the particular case. There was something we would

like to highlight in the contract with Barcelona. Gross misconduct

worthy of termination. We have rolled out education lessons and

worked with various organisations. If you're talking about terminating

contracts, if John Terry is found guilty of gross misconduct, should

he play football for Chelsea again? That his side had the poetical

question. It is a reasonable one. - - that is a hypothetical question.

Everybody knows his defence was not beyond reasonable doubt. That is on

a balance of probabilities. We had 80 process of law and that was

taken up by the Crown prosecution Service. It is not for me while the

process is going on to say what I think should happen. Let me I'll

ask you about money. There was Suarez was found guilty. We saw how

difficult it was. He was still maintaining his innocence. That

caused a big problem. I would like to move on. If you don't want to

accept it, you can appeal against it. Do you think -- de had any

sympathy at all with people who love the game who say that

footballers are simply paid too much these days? Every labourer his

work has higher. -- his higher. It is about supply and demand. You

lose 50 players Priya with permanent injury. Out of the 600 he

joined the club at 16, 500 will be out by the tape -- age they -- time

there are 21. It would be ideal if they were role models. Let me ask

you about this, you say every labourer is worth his or her wage.

The point that is made more and more the club owners is that it is

unsustainable. And paying out 80% of the club's income on wages is

unsustainable. Many football clubs are going to the wall over this.

Footballers used to be under a maximum wage. They weren't able to

We are in favour of the financial fair-play rules. Satellite

television has come in. It offered amazing money compared to what

happened in the past. Football players are getting a lot less to

what they were getting. Then the satellite television people came in.

You have seen the power of television and the power of

football. They have been good for each other. The Premier League gets

criticised. At times in England it is really strange. In America, they

would be looked up to. Let me ask you specifically about broadcast

rights. The latest three-year deal, just within the UK, has seen it go

up nearly 80%. Should those wagers... Should that increased go

into their wages? The game is about players. That is what the crowds

and their four. Decried is there to support their club. If they feel

like their club is going to the wall... I am not inventing does.

Why should film stars... Why should Elton John get $500,000 for a

concert? The thing that is concerning... I will quote it to

you. It is about the journey men, for all players, the mediocre

football players who are being turned into instant multi-

millionaires. I am not talking about the lower divisions. England,

50 million population, more full- time clubs, more full-time players

- we should be proud of that. Morgan, the owner of Wolverhampton,

he says, mid- ranking on lower my dragging clubs of mind 60% of their

turn over of wages is not sustainable. What are they thinking

of? It is not fair to need to be critical. I cannot tell Steve

Morgan about how he should run the football club. It is not just him.

They are managing to survive, the income is going up. Manchester

United work out about 60% of their income on wages. And yet they are

so highly valued, their stock market price goes up and up.

Because they are successful. Do you have any sympathy to the idea that

some sort -- to some sort of salary cap. We have the sympathy... We

have sympathy to financial propriety. We have spent three

decades dealing with the likes of Portsmouth to have not been handled

well financially. Clubs over commit. That is the nature of sport, to

speculate, to dream, to think you can get up there. From that point

of view, we don't want to see clubs going into administration. I don't

think any young player should be denied and his ability to

capitalise on his talent. One thing that erasures fans, especially

these days... Or the media and everybody liked to call it. You

join the crowd? One of the antics that enrages France, more these

days than any other day... Is the culture of shooting. What can you

do about cheating, about diving, about this epidemic of feigning

injury on the pitch? We work with the FA, the Premier Football Nick,

and the referees to try to make sure the game is played in the best

possible spirit. Is it working? you asked the referees, they will

say yes. They say the conduct of the players are far better than it

is low on the scale. That is not to say it is perfect. When you say it

is not working, it is a physical and fast-moving game. Wayne Rooney

was very fortunate the other week. But was a real injury. That is what

happens. Sometimes you wonder how a player can go down. It is at such

speed. When it is blatant that a player has feigned injury...

have suggested in the past you have certain sympathy for those who do

feign injury. No, I did not. As a player, if you touch in the box,

the manager says you should have gone down because if you do try to

stay on your feet, the referee is faced with a difficult decision.

You think that is reasonable? think contact is made. In order to

get that decision, players will go down. Do you think clubs should

face disciplinary actions for misbehaviour by their players?

Should they be docked points if they have been deemed,

retrospectively, to have cheated their way to victory? If you are

talking about technology, Maradona was hailed a hero when Argentina...

When he handled the ball. It was very hard to live with. You feel

like if another player had done Mark -- done that, he would have

told the referee. You do have good sportsmen and women. Eating clubs

should be docked points? -- do you think. I think clubs with bad

disciplinary records should be warned. They should initially be

fine. That happens. If the record does not improve, they are fined

again. And then they should be threatened with. Deductions. --

with point Productions. DC... This is a game that has an extraordinary

number of followers around the world. At the same time, there are

lots and lots of people who are very worried about the nature of

the game. About the cheating, about the mining, about the attendant

problems. -- the money. Should we be happy or should we be worried?

It is creating such wealth. It is the responsibility for everybody in

it. They should be Social responsibility. The billionaire's

in the IT would have given money back for good causes. What is not

always appreciated are the community programmes that are in

existence. Do you feel let down by your own members? Of course I do.

That is human nature. It would be a strange world otherwise. If you had

a team of choirboys, you would not expect them to it all be brilliant.

That his life. It is a class of children. You have good, bad, in

different. You'll have the ones you can reliant. Last year, the FA

players made 40,000 visits to good causes. Their work with the

government on initiatives to combat obesity, to try and combat knife

crime. There are millions put in by the Premier League, the Football

Association, the Football League into social responsibility

programmes and grassroots football. My local club, a Methodist Sunday

School, was transformed by grants. I unveiled a plaque to after warden

who played in that area. -- for a player. People do not always

appreciate what football gives back to the community. I cannot think of