Well, now we know for sure. Nothing is sacred anymore. The decision by Manchester United to pull out of the FA Cup next year confirms what many have felt for some time: soccer has lost all its meaning.

There was a time when England epitomised much that was great in sport. The old verities of fair play and decency seemed to be enshrined in the way the English approached sport of all kinds.

Cricket and rugby seemed to have set very high standards. In rugby the referee was always right - even when he was wrong. It is difficult to put a date on when matters changed. Well I suppose things changed gradually, as things tend to do.

A watershed may very well have been set in New Zealand many years ago and now recalled by Tony O'Reilly in after-dinner speeches. O'Reilly was playing for the British and Irish Lions, and he tells how in one particular game a nippy little Englishman called Dickie Jeeps was playing at scrum-half.

As plucky a player as ever laced a boot, Jeeps stopped an All Black footrush by going down on the ball and was promptly kicked in a strategic place by an on-rushing All Black.

Play was held up for some time as treatment was administered - lots of cold water in those days. Among the Irish on the Lions team that day were Bill Mulcahy and Tony O'Reilly. Mulcahy spoke to O'Reilly to confirm that retribution would be required as soon as the match resumed, but as they discussed what their approach should be, Jeeps stood up and went directly to the All Black player who had kicked him.

The two Irishmen hovered as close to the action as they thought was wise, believing that Jeeps was going to exact his own revenge. To their astonishment he held out his hand and said to the towering All Black: "Never mind, old chap. These things happen. It's all in the game!"

Whereupon Mulcahy turned to O'Reilly and said: "Jazus Tony! No wonder the auld Empire crumbled."

Now the FA Cup, admired all over the world, has been diminished by the decision of one of the most admired teams in the world to pull out in order to take part in a Mickey Mouse tournament which has never before been played.

Various views have been expressed. One is that England is so desperate that they be given the right to host the World Cup in 2006 that they are afraid that the failure of Manchester United to take part in the new competition would damage their chances of getting the tournament. Some capital has been made of the fact that if Manchester United do not take part in the new competition, the initiative will be handed over to Bayern Munich and, by extension, Germany, who also want to stage the 2006 World Cup.

There has also been talk that the British government has put pressure on Manchester United to take this course of action and even that Alex Ferguson's knighthood may have been a quid pro quo in the whole business.

There is another theory floating around as well and that is that if the tournament is not played in England there is a strong possibility that England might not even qualify. The host team is an automatic qualifier - a kind of a back door situation. It clearly means a lot to England to be certain of qualifying.

But, surely this is no valid reason for Manchester United to pull out of the FA Cup, which it has decorated for many years. There is a great history of United success in the competition. Here in Ireland we have been part of that history with players like Jackie Carey, Noel Cantwell and Roy Keane proudly lifting the cup.

Others, like Johnny Giles, Tony Dunne, Shay Brennan, Kevin Moran, Denis Irwin and many others have been part of something of which we can all feel proud.

Some of us remember, too, seeing great players like Duncan Edwards, Tommy Taylor and Roger Byrne playing at Dalymount Park in that famous World Cup match in 1957 when Tom Finney and John Attyeo unlatched the Irish defence. Edwards, Taylor and Byrne were to perish in the Munich air crash. What, one can only help wondering, would they think of United pulling out of the FA Cup? It is extremely sad that either filthy lucre or political opportunism, or both, are playing a part in such a sordid scheme. Manchester United is a central part of English football in general and the FA Cup in particular.

Christy Ring once, memorably said: "Munster hurling without Tipperary is only half dressed" and we can borrow the phrase for our own purposes: "The FA Cup without Manchester United is only half dressed".

The opportunism now being displayed is a betrayal of much of United's history. After a year when the club won a unique treble it has now abandoned its proud heritage and will not defend the trophy which it won in such dramatic circumstances.

The club has also betrayed the integrity of the FA Cup competition for, no matter who wins it next year, there will always be a doubt about the authenticity of the victory. That is a sad outcome for what many describe as "The Beautiful Game".