text: Eight years ago, after his AC Milan team had beaten Liverpool to win the Champions League final in Athens, Kaka knelt in the centre circle, spread his arms out wide, tilted his head back and turned his eyes to the skies in a gesture of worship and supplication. The Brazilian superstar was wearing a vest on which he had printed the proud statement 'I Belong to Jesus'. It was a striking, bold image of a man not afraid to display his faith. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I can't remember anybody screaming that what Kaka had done was a 'disgrace'. I can't remember him being mocked or ridiculed. I can't remember anyone saying his gesture was an affront to public decency. Kaka showed off an 'I belong to Jesus' vest after AC Milan's Champions League win against Liverpool in 2007 . The Brazilian midfielder, who is deeply religious, was not mocked or ridiculed for the message on his clothes . I can't remember public anger being mobilised against him or him being held up as a symbol of a creeping, sinister malaise in our society. I can't remember Kaka being criticised for his faith. I can't remember anyone saying that such shows of religious devotion were out of place at a football match. Last Monday night, I went to an LA Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium. As always before a sporting event of any size in the States, professional or high school, the crowd sang the national anthem lustily. I might not have been paying attention but I don't recall anybody objecting when the spectators sang God Bless America. I don't recall anybody saying they were inflicting their religion on the non-Christians among the crowd. The idea that anybody might do that is absurd, right? I mean, amid all the other things we have to worry and fret about, who could object to something as harmless as that? And what about the high profile Bible Group that exists on golf's PGA Tour and boasts major winners such as Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson among its members? Some members pause midway through their rounds to read from the New Testament, meditate on holy scriptures and pray. 'We do something before every round,' American golfer Ben Crane said recently. Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson is part of a Bible Group on the PGA Tour . Webb Simpson, pictured in action at the RBC heritage, is another well known Christian golfer . Nobody sees fit to complain about that, surely. Imagine the outrage if they did. Whether you follow the same beliefs or not, why would anybody object to sportsmen finding some common ground in religion? It's the same in the NFL. Players routinely congregate on the pitch before and after a match to pray. Not a big deal. Not even something to remark upon. Just part of players' rituals. Members of the Seattle Seahawks, who won the Super Bowl two years ago, even made a proselytising video extolling the virtues of Christianity and urging supporters to 'find out how you can get plugged in with local believers'. No problem, surely. And let's not forget our own Premier League. Some might see it as a refuge of the godless but many of its players don't agree. Daniel Sturridge, the Liverpool forward, talks openly about giving the glory for his deeds to God. His beliefs are widely seen as a positive element in his life. Javier Hernandez always dropped to his knees to pray before kick off when he played for Manchester United. David Luiz, the former Chelsea defender, used to drive to training with a 'Christ is Life' sticker on his van when he was at Benfica. Daniel Sturridge (left) and Javier Hernandez (right) both express their beliefs on the football pitch . So forgive me for being naive but why is it that when two men pray quietly in a small corner of an English football ground that their actions should be labelled a 'disgrace'. The only disgrace, of course, was the blinkered, bigoted reaction of the petty-minded oaf who took the picture of the men and was appalled by what he saw. What exactly is noteworthy about two men praying on the concourse at Anfield during Liverpool's FA Cup tie with Blackburn Rovers last month? Why is it that when another group of supporters did the same thing at a West Ham match recently, their actions were met with similar consternation? You probably remember the video footage of that incident at Upton Park. A breathless man shouting 'what is this' as he filmed the men praying as if they were engaged in an act of desecration. Then the supporters around him started yelling 'Irons, Irons' as if they had located a rival hooligan faction. Stephen Dodd took this photograph of Asif Bodi and Abubakar Bhula praying at Anfield last month . Let's be honest about this because there's a simple answer to the question of what unites these reactions: if you're Christian, it's OK to pray at a football ground. If you're Muslim, it's not. That's the truth, isn't it? That's what we're avoiding. Expressions of Christian devotion at sporting events go unremarked. Expressions of Muslim devotion are described as 'extraordinary scenes'. They prompt suggestions that this will be the thin end of the wedge and that soon, horror of horrors, there will be prayer rooms at football stadia. Er, well, what's wrong with that? Some clubs already have prayer rooms, actually. They're multi-denominational. It is bizarre that anyone should even consider it an issue. But they do, apparently. Religion at a sporting event becomes a topic only when it is someone else's religion. Bob Dylan sang about that once. The verse went like this: 'You don't count the dead when God's on your side.' Failure to end KP debate is hurting England . It's a sorry state of affairs when England's inability to close out the First Test against the West Indies is seen through the prism of another failure to quell speculation about the return of Kevin Pietersen. Victory would have quietened some of the voices that have been urging his restoration to the side. Defeat would have hastened his recall. The draw in Antigua was the worst of all worlds. Jonathan Trott leads the way as England's players trudge off after their draw against the West Indies . There is an unavoidable sense that English cricket will not be able to move on until the Pietersen issue is resolved and an inconclusive series in the Caribbean will mean only that our game is more likely to be left in a state of limbo until the Ashes series this summer and possibly beyond. It almost feels as if it would be better to throw Pietersen  into the fray and step back and watch the fisticuffs. There is a storm coming and until it breaks, we fret about the dark clouds. Talk of an England return for batsman Kevin Pietersen is continuing to gather pace . Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was convicted of first degree murder last week for shooting a man six times. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The jury heard that Hernandez, one of the best players in the NFL, thought that wealth and fame made him immune from the rule of law. His demise is a grim warning of the worst that can happen when the inflated wages modern sportsmen earn warp their minds. Former NLF star Aaron Hernandez (second from right) has been sentenced to life in prison without parole . Favourite food at a sporting venue? The Eccles cakes they used to serve at Anfield take some beating but the garlic fries they serve at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles went to the top of my list this week. The game — the Dodgers beat the Seattle Mariners in extra innings — wasn't bad, either. Los Angeles Dodgers duo Adrian Gonzalez (left) and Andre Ethier celebrate after beating the Seattle Mariners .
target: Liverpool are taking action against fan Stephen Dodd who photographed Asif Bodi and Abubakar Bhula praying at Anfield last month .
  Dodd captioned the photo: 'Muslims praying at half time #DISGRACE'
  Kaka famously displayed a 'I belong to Jesus' vest after AC Milan's Champions League win against Liverpool in 2007 .
  Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson are part of a PGA Tour Bible Group .
  Religion in sport only becomes a topic when it is someone else's religion .