IS it me or is world sport suddenly venturing further along a path of retrospective judgement, and trial by jury?

Millions of you love Formula One and good luck to you.

I’m afraid I don’t get it – never have done – so it would be wrong for me to go too deeply into a world of compressors, simulators, cylinder head gaskets and gadgets that would have even Jeremy Clarkson scratching his head, but can anyone tell me why nobody ever wins a race on the actual day any more?

As soon as the chequered flag is raised it seems to be the signal for mass protests, enquiries into pit stops, fuel gauges, colour of crash helmets, illegal lane changes and the sexual preferences of it’s administrators taking away any gloss or glamour achieved by the first man over the line.

Poor old Jensen Button waited an eternity to win a race and no sooner had the garland been flung around his neck than Lewis Hamilton was grabbing the headlines again for being called a cheat.

Four days later argument was still raging over who finished third and the pools panel was still in session over who should be disqualified.

This all coincided with an invitation for me to appear on Calendar after an MEP put forward a motion that the result of the 1973 European Cup Winners’ Cup Final should be reversed!

Now I’m all in favour of fair play and justice being seen to be done, but even though referee Mihas was suspended for life after his shocking performance that night in Salonika I can’t see UEFA suddenly overturning AC Milan’s dodgy victory over Leeds United.

It should have either been reversed immediately (i.e. as soon as the referee was found guilty of accepting a bribe) or the match should have been replayed within six months.

It’s hard to imagine a replay now – Kaka, Ronaldinho and Beckham against Richardson, Naylor and Snodgrass – and the sight of a 65 year-old Norman Hunter chasing Milan players all around the park doesn’t seem a viable alternative.

I’m afraid history will have to stand – but so it should – decisions in rugby and cricket can be altered within seconds, and that’s only right.

Even the most ardent Formula One fans seem exasperated by the current trend towards protracted decisions so I would suggest the ‘sport’ takes a leaf out of other’s books and puts a time limit – say an hour – on the adjudicators, so that fans know who’s actually won a race before they arrive at the pub to celebrate.

Thankfully, everyone seemed to accept the rain-hit result in Malaysia without the help of Messrs Duckworth and Lewis!

Freddie gives us real Ashes hope

I READ an article last week suggesting that if England are to win back the Ashes this summer they will only do it with Andrew Flintoff in the side.

To be honest I was beginning to doubt the validity of that argument having seen Flintoff bat three times recently and amass just three runs in the space of five balls.

Certainly he is not worth his place in any side the way he is batting at present.

Then I saw him bowl – like the wind.

He blew away the West Indies with a hat trick and five wickets that could have been six, seven or eight, in an inspired spell that made me wonder why I’d ever questioned his inclusion in the first place.

You can dislike his posturing, argue that he can be a disruptive influence in the dressing room, and worry about his batting and behaviour, but you can’t dispute he is our best fast bowler by a mile.

So long as Freddie stays fit we have a chance of winning back the Ashes –- and (who knows?) he might even remember which end of the bat to hold when he takes on Brett Lee again.

Excuses run out, just like Zaki

END OF my tether seems to be a buzz phrase of the moment along with ‘fiscal stimulus’ and Steve Bruce is in good company with Kevin Pietersen.

They both seem to be ‘between a rock and a hard place’ (who dreams these things up?) trying to balance needs with emotions.

Pietersen had simply been in the Caribbean too long, and was missing his wife, at least until he had to go off again to earn the next million in South Africa, whereas Bruce is missing his star striker simply because he doesn’t seem to fancy hurrying back to Wigan.

Not so long ago Amr Zaki was scoring goals for fun in the Premiership, he was flavour of the month at the JJB, and Bruce was singing his Egyptian praises.

Now he’d rather have the Sphinx playing up front.

Every time Zaki goes away on international duty he manages to miss the plane back to Lancashire.

I’m sure the delights of Cairo probably have it over Wigan Pier but that doesn’t excuse the actions of a man who signed a contract to play football and is abusing the word professional.

Zaki follows in a line that includes Celestine Babayaro and Georgi Kinkladze as miscreants who frequently went AWOL – Robinho is hinting at inclusion too – and Bruce will be happy to see him go back to the Land of the Pharaohs permanently.

His goals are not worth his getaways.