Are today's tackles unacceptable and dangerous?

This weekend's FA Cup action provided intrigue, shock and sheer excitement. But there are two sides of every coin, and tackling provided another topic to talk about the following day at work. There were at least three crunching challenges seen this weekend, one that saw a QPR striker's leg break in two places. Are today's tackles the worst, and could defensive coaches at clubs do much more about the practices into the art of slide tackling?

Football is multi-million pound money spinner. Lower league clubs are dependent on the FA Cup to earn them lucrative ties in the hope of attracting commercial appeal. The same applies with the Premier League, with much emphasis on staying in the top tier to reap premium financial rewards, while entry into European football also adds marketing, commercial and financial exposure. It isn't surprising that players give it their all, with each competitive game almost acting as if their lives depended on it.

Of course football is only a sport, and a BBC Inside Sport documentary last year analysed how the fun aspect has been ebbed away because of the pressures of professionalism. This is possibly where tackling revolves around: the intensity of the modern game. The FA Cup saw three, to a partial extent, leg-breaking challenges - one which actually did cause that damage. Chiek Tiote's challenge that earned him a red card, Steven Gerrard which earned him the same punishment, and Gael Givet's fierce challenge on Jimmy Mackie which caused a double compound fracture to Mackie as well as minor injury to himself, were all tackles that carried velocity.

Referees are aiming to cut down on potentially dangerous tackles. Seemingly it is, the FA have asked referees to clamp down on 'excessively forceful' challenges with Mark Taylor's horrendous challenge on Eduardo left the Croatian striker's leg in a heap in 2008 acting as the blueprint for decision-making. And lets also not forget a fellow Arsenal player Aaron Ramsey, who suffered a similar serious injury when competing with Ryan Shawcross of Stoke last year. There have been examples where players have lunged in two-footed. Karl Henry for Wolves has had stick from the press for ill-timed tackles on Fulham's Bobby Zamora and Wigan's Jordi Gomez, the former still out with a knee injury from the September fixture.

We all often forget, but isn't the basic rule for a football player is to have a duty of care for its opponents? The furious pace of the Premier League will not diminish with players' stamina at very high levels, but you would think tougher sanctions need to be put in place before we get another case of a broken leg. The FA have not solved the problem and clubs are paying the penalty because of corporate ignorance.