Premiership side Stoke City and Championship side Sheffield United, are to be the first two teams to be prosecuted by the Football Association under the controversial 2008 Cruelty To Football Act, after their performances so far this season.
The two, who had already contrived to kill football after the FA witnessed both clubs stubbornly refusing fans' requests to show enthusiasm for the game, and throttled all signs of life out of it, forcing many to walk out at halftime, and to go home for a cup of cocoa.
Many supporters claimed that their team where just not trying!
Blades' fan Ernie Gambit, 13, who had travelled more than 100 miles to see his team, moaned:
"It was a disgrace what they did to us, I was so ashamed of myself for just sitting there and doing nothing. Never, in all my years as a fan, have I seen anything so cruel."
And Stoke fans weren't any happier. Alfie Dour, said:
"The poor game was on its last legs, but the team kept on kicking it whilst it was down. It was shameful. They ought to be prosecuted for cruelty to football."
It was this latest remark that prompted the FA to act. A statement on the FA web-site explained:
"The facts are that if teams are going to meander through games like these two have done, the FA will have to step in. Football is all about putting effort into every game, not just World Cup Finals. Wet Tuesday nights and long trips to Plymouth and Carlisle are all part and parcel of the game."
Anthony Dogwood, of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Football (RSPCF), said:
"Look Football's for life, not just for Christmas, and after Fulham’s performance against Man U last night, they too should be worried!"
