Terry Maddaford: And the Oscar goes to...

Fifa quaintly call it "simulation" - fans at the World Cup and the billions who watch from afar - are more to the point. It is diving - a blight on the game.

Simple flashes of play-acting aimed at "conning" match officials and threatening to turn the so-called beautiful game into the ugly.

The Fifa rule simply states that "a player who attempts to deceive the referee by feigning injury or pretending to have been fouled is guilty of simulation and must be cautioned for unsporting behaviour".

Why then was French striker Thierry Henry able to get away with it when he was clipped by retreating Spanish defender Carlos Puyol in the last of the second round games this week?

Seizing his chance, Henry "simulated" injury by diving to the ground and throwing his hands to his head - not his leg - to convince the referee he should be awarded a freekick.

No hint of a card for Henry's part in this farce ...

He was quickly back on his feet and pushing forward when French captain Zinedine Zidane sent the freekick deep. Patrick Vieira headed into the Spanish goal for a game-breaking 2-1 lead with seven minutes to play. There have been too many instances of this unsavoury side to the game.

Italian Fabio Grosso made a meal of it to win his team the penalty which broke Australian hearts.

The list goes on.

Referees have been in the spotlight from the outset. Some decisions have been clear cut. Others leave a sorry feeling that players will continue to try it on.

There was no argument when Italian Daniele de Rossi was sent off for elbowing long-serving American Brian McBride in the face. His bloodied face matching the colour of the card - one of three shown in the match.

At the time, that matched the World Cup record of three reds in a single match. Eight days later, that paled into insignificance as Russian referee Valentin Ivanov went on a card frenzy, flashing 16 yellows and a record four reds. It was his last act of the tournament.

In a lesser act, but one which had the same result, Brazilian referee Carlos Simon flashed a second yellow card at Swedish defender Teddy Lucic for an innocuous tug on German Miroslav Klose's shirt. Lucic, needlessly, sent packing. So, too - though later - was Simon.

In other ways, the referees are nowhere near as strict.

Another Fifa rule states items of jewellery are potentially dangerous. Therefore any kind of jewellery (including rings and earrings) has to be forbidden. Taping jewellery is not adequate protection."

Why then, is Zidane allowed to wear his wedding ring (untaped) and England captain David Beckham his (taped)?

On a more serious note, red cards are nothing new - but will always be a discussion point.

There were 22 flashed in France in 1998 and five fewer four years later. With eight games still to be played in Germany 2006, the red card tally has rocketed to a record 25. It could reach 30.

At the other end of the scale, in 1970, in Mexico at the tournament still regarded by many as the best ever, no player was sent off.

Fifa now allow communication between referees and their assistants. During the France-Spain game there was at least one clear example of the advantage of such technology when the referee ruled one way only to, on the advice of his assistant, change his decision. Subsequent replays showed the reversal correct.

But will soccer bosses ever go the whole way and use technology to help rid the game of the cheats? Nothing yet suggests they will.

It would have been interesting to see the reaction if the referee had been able "to go upstairs" to check on Grosso's "dive". But that is a whole new question - and one which has no quick answer.