CRAIG Short today called on the football authorities to crack down on cheating following the storm surrounding Arsenal's recent FA Cup clash with Chelsea.

Gunners striker Francis Jeffers was accused of diving for the second time this season when he won a penalty against the Blues at Highbury last week.

And Short believes incidents like that are now becoming far too frequent in the English game as he prepares to come face-to-face with his former Everton team-mate at Ewood tomorrow.

"Francis Jeffers got a lot of stick when he went down in the Liverpool game earlier this season and I think he's probably learnt that from the other players he plays with," said Short.

"I know I might get into trouble for saying this but I think the foreigners do it a lot more and I'd like to see it stamped out.

"If you cheat in athletics or cricket, you get banned whereas nowadays in football, at worst they get a yellow card.

"If you're going to get done for cheating then I think you should be banned or reprimanded after a game and fined because yellow cards aren't going to stop it.

"People say it's gamesmanship and professionalism but that's rubbish. It's just cheating.

"I don't like to see it, you never saw it a few years ago, but it's becoming more and more widespread, and I think Francis has perhaps been guilty of it at times.

"He'll say differently. He'll see it as clever play. But I thought the goalkeeper in the Chelsea game was very unfortunate to get booked."

Despite pointing an accusing finger at Jeffers, Short still believes his former Everton pal will pose a serious threat to Rovers' hopes of pulling off a memorable double at the expense of the Gunners.

The 22-year-old became something of a forgotten man at Highbury in the wake of his £10 million move from Everton as a succession of injuries took their toll.

But in the last few months, he's returned to form and fitness, even winning his first senior England cap in the recent friendly with Australia.

And if he starts alongside Thierry Henry, then Short is anticipating a busy afternoon.

"I was with Franny at Everton and he was only young then but he looks to have done really well for himself," said Short.

"Obviously, he always had the talent but he's had lots of injuries which have held him back a bit.

"He had a good attitude at Everton, though. He always used to work hard and stay behind a lot after training and now that he's playing with even better players, he's only going to get better and people should remember he's still only young.

"So it's going to be interesting to see what happens to him in the next two or three years."

If Short was to pick out the biggest single threat to Rovers, however, then one man stands head and shoulders above the rest -- Thierry Henry.

"I think he's the best in the world, I really do," said the Rovers defender.

"I remember when he came over as a winger and I thought to myself 'I hope he stays that way. I hope he doesn't come as a centre-forward'.

"Sometimes Manchester United used to bring Ryan Giggs into the middle from the left when I've played against them and I'd think to myself 'I wish he'd go back out wide' because he seems to do less damage out there -- and it's the same with Henry.

"I know he does drift out left quite a lot but they've successfully converted him into a centre-forward.

"He's 6ft 3in, he's two-footed, he's strong, and he's full of confidence so I think he's the best around right now.

"Obviously, Van Nistelrooy is top class as well but to be the out-and-out best I think you've got to have electric pace and I didn't find Van Nistelrooy to be particularly quick.

"He's not one of those players who could turn at you, face you up, bang it past you, like Henry or Fulham's Louis Saha.

"They're both quick and powerful and if you're left one-on-one with them then you'll struggle."

So how do Rovers plan to tame the Premiership's deadliest striker?

At Highbury last October, they adopted a counter-attacking approach which paid handsome dividends in the form of a magnificent 2-1 victory.

And Short believes a similar kind of plan may be the best way forward again tomorrow.

"Every time we've played them, we've always set our stall out to play a bit deeper and limit the space behind us," said Short.

"There's no way we could push up and squeeze because that's playing straight into Henry's hands.

"So by playing deeper we might be forfeiting territory but you feel more comfortable playing that way and then we've got to try to hit them on the break ourselves."

Short added: "We are safe now so we can go into it with more of a positive attitude and maybe take the game to them a bit more."