Midfielder Steven Reid today called on the FA to clamp down on the cheats who are damaging football's reputation.

The Blackburn Rovers star is the latest high profile figure to join the great debate on diving and he reckons serious action must be taken this summer to eradicate it from the game.

"It's something the FA, or whoever, need to sit down and sort out in the summer," said the 25-year-old.

"They need to get some kind of guidelines in place. At the moment, some players are getting booked for it and others aren't.

"We need a law where it's the same for everyone so something will be done about it."

Diving is a growing problem in the English game, with 76 cards shown to players in the Premiership and the Football League for simulation' so far this season.

Of the 16 cautions issued in the Premier League, all but four have been shown to players from overseas.

Ironically, Reid is one of the four domestic players to have been booked for diving after he was cautioned in Rovers' 0-0 draw with Bolton in January following a challenge by Wanderers' Ricardo Gardner.

But the Rovers midfielder reckons the referee on that day, Mike Riley, would not have shown him a yellow card if he had had the benefit of a video replay.

"It was one of those where I could have left my leg there and got fouled but it was a complete one-off," said Reid.

"I didn't claim I'd been fouled and there wasn't players running over either.

"To be fair, it's difficult for the refs at times. It happens that quickly and they've only got one chance of seeing it, so maybe video replays in games is the way forward.

"If the referee can stop the game for a few seconds and look at a video then at least there'd be no arguments and it's not then dragged out in the press for two weeks afterwards."

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson reckons the authorities should go one step further and introduce a rule which would see players automatically red-carded for diving.

"I think that would open up a can of worms because players would get sent off one week and then the next week they wouldn't," said Reid.

Rovers manager Mark Hughes, who has strong views on diving, hasn't felt the need to speak to his own players about it because it doesn't appear to be a problem at Blackburn.

"We've got a good bunch of pros and a good team as well so it's not a problem we seem to have," said Reid.

Aside from the issue of diving, Reid would also like to see the authorities clamp down on players surrounding referees in an attempt to get opposition players booked.

He added: "It's not nice to see fellow professionals trying to get each other booked.

"Something has got to be done in the summer because there seems to be a lot of bad press surrounding football at the minute and not enough good."