CYNICAL opponents will try and get England captain Alan Shearer sent off at the World Cup, says former FIFA referee Roger Milford. Strict new guidelines on, among other things, tackles from behind will be in place for France 98 and Milford fears that opponents' play-acting could lead to naturally competitive players like the England skipper either being afraid to make any sort of challenge or falling foul of the law. "My big worry is that you cannot trust some professionals to behave in a proper manner, he said. They are what I call the 'Equity' players, the ones who deliberately dive and act as if they are seriously hurt. A referee cannot always have the right view of an incident, so if a player was to get straight back up and carry on playing when he went down, the ref could play advantage. But other teams will know Shearer is the main threat and their 'Equity' players will try to get him sent off. "The fact that FIFA have issued these mandates means referees will not be allowed to use their ability to control a game in a certain manner," added Milford. "A few years ago, a referee could give a player a verbal warning, but now they are under orders from the game's governing body to caution a player. The big problem is that the word 'intent' has been taken out of the laws of the game. That means that if a player accidentally mis-times a tackle and makes contact with an opponent, he is liable to be cautioned. The first game of the tournament will set the pattern, so it is the players of Scotland and Brazil who have a big responsibility to behave in the proper manner." GLENN HODDLE has had his players training with the adidas ball that will be used during France 98. Designed specifically for the World Cup, the ball is very different to the Mitre balls normally used by the England squad and Hoddle admits it takes some getting used to. "It's a lively ball, a lot lighter than the balls we've all been used to, he explained. "It's not so much that it moves in the air, but when you're crossing the ball it's half a clip rather than a full one. It really is different and you've got to adjust to the movement. We've trained with it every session, until the cameras come in, when we have to change to Mitre because of the contract we have with them. But after the Saudi match, everything we do will be with the World Cup ball." FRENCH-speaking FA officials will be on duty at each England match this summer to try and defuse the sort of trouble that erupted during October's World Cup qualifier in Rome last year. We don't know everything and we don't know all that the supporters might need," said deputy chief executive Pat Smith. "We learnt a lot from Rome. I was working outside the stadium with some of my colleagues and had an interpreter with me and I was able to take the heat out of certain situations but there weren't enough of us. We would like to have more people available, including French speakers, so it's possible to nip a problem in the bud."

FUTURE LOOKING BRIGHT FOR IRISH Republic Of Ireland 0 Mexico 0   IRELAND'S new generation of footballers pushed World Cup-bound Mexico all the way at Lansdowne Road yesterday to give manager Mick McCarthy reason for optimism going into next season's Euro 2000 qualifiers. For a team with a France 98 opener less than three weeks away, the Mexicans showed little in the way of an attacking threat as the Irish swarmed at them from the kick-off. Wolves striker Robbie Keane, 17, was given a second start in attack, alongside David Connolly, with Blackburn winger Damien Duff wide on the left. Both started impressively, Duff skinning his man in only the second minute and whipping in a tantalising cross from the by-line. Then, after five minutes, Keane used his pace to beat the defence to a long ball from the back, but sweeper Duilio Davino deflected his shot away for a corner. The Wolves starlet then forced goalkeeper Jorge Campos into a good save at his near post with a shot on the turn from 12 yards. The traffic was all one-way - Connolly glanced a header just wide, Gary Breen headed over from a corner after 20 minutes and Gareth Farrelly hit a 25-yard volley that stung Campos' palms. After a sluggish opening half hour, the Mexicans gradually got going, one slick passing move ending with captain Alberto Garcia firing just over Shay Given's bar. Given, a spectator for much of the first 45 minutes, showed good reactions in the opening moments of the second half, getting down quickly to half-time substitute Francisco Palencia's whipped-in cross. Gary Kelly was booked in his first match as Irish captain, for a rash challenge when the whistle had already gone for a foul on Farrelly, before substitute Ricardo Pelaez wasted the best chance of the match on the hour, Given doing well to block the shot after he had raced clear of the defence. Man-of-the-match Keane almost snatched the winner with nine minutes left, curling in a right-footed shot that beat Campos, but flew inches the wrong side of the left-hand post.

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