I'm all for the 'meaningless' handshakes. They are symbolic. They represent sporting fair play, honest combat. Why does anyone shake hands anyway? We greet new people this way an open hand, 'look I'm not holding any weapon' you are saying to each other. It is an ancient custom to show earnest good faith. Not to shake a hand is an admission for intended violence. Of course this is all lost on most people as now days almost everything people do is thoughtless, ignorant and selfish. I bet you could go up to almost any one and ask them the meaning behind shaking hands or saluting and they couldn't tell you or say something half arsed. It is another damning indictment of our society. The FA insist on handshakes because someone there knows what they represent and brain dead footballers don't, they just think it is tradition.
If there is real enmity then of course you won't shake hands, to do so would make one a hypocrite, unless of course by shaking a hand you are committed to a temporary truce so you can attain a common aim. Football is big business, but it is also sport and it should be played fiercely but fairly. There will be real dislike amongst players, but in football they are team players and team goals should subsume personal ones. I believe the handshakes should continue and be enforced. Players are paid to compete against whoever, we all find ourselves working with people we don't like or even hate. We have a choice to put up with the situation or leave that job. Putting up with the situation could mean avoiding that person. This isn't an option in football. So a footballer's choice should be to get on with work and abide by the rules of the sport or don't play or even quit being a footballer because you can't hack it. I can imagine a mangers reaction to a player asking to be excused because he doesn't like another player.
