Why Diving Will Never Be Eliminated From Football
We live in a sad time, for football that is. The diving epidemic seems to be getting worse and worse. Every week i find myself pulling my hair out at players throwing themselves to the ground like they’ve been shot. And let’s not call it simulation, it’s straight up cheating, and there are no two ways about it.
When incidents like this started occurring many years ago, the whole of football was outraged at those partaking in this kind of activity. Yet now it seems to have become almost acceptable, perhaps not from the viewpoints of football fans, but from within the game. FIFA and UEFA clearly don’t care about the issue otherwise they would have done something about it in the last decade. For me the only thing worse than your team losing to a late goal is when that goal is scored from the penalty spot after a ridiculous dive has won a penalty. This must be exactly how West Brom fans feel at the time of me writing this. This whole problem could have been stamped out of the game the moment it appeared if action was taken and huge bans and fines imposed on players caught doing it. Since that is not the case, over time, more and more players have begun to dive since there are no consequences and if they get it right it could produce match winning decisions. Just look at Ashley Young’s hilarious examples provided to us just in this season alone. It seems like just goes out onto the pitch to dive, when was the last time he actually scored a goal?
Why has diving now become acceptable? You may ask. I genuinely believe it is down to the way the media and especially TV pundits on shows like Match of the Day have begun to talk about it. The language seems to have changed, and with it so has the attitude of people who take their football opinions from shows like this. A dive 10 years ago would have let to the player being called a cheat, and rightly so. Now it seems pundits and certain elements of the media go out of their way to make excuses for players. Below are some of my favourite ones.
- “His momentum has carried him over”. Somehow implying that the defender is in someway responsible for the attacker not being able to stay on his feet. Remember these are professional footballers, not 2 day old deer. Knowing how to run with a ball without ending up on your arse should be football 101. I will admit of course that in some situations players with a lot of pace can get off balance and fall due to the pace, but it sure as hell does not give them to right to appeal for a penalty for it.
- “He impeded him without touching him”. This one has to be my personal favourite. I’m not talking about situations where a player has gone flying in causing the other player to jump out of the way to avoid injury. In those situations he may not have made contact but it is definitely a foul. I’m talking about players running into the box seeing a defender’s leg and going over it without touching it. Mate unless that guy’s leg has an electromagnetic force field around it that can suck you to the ground then you are simply cheating.
- “He intended to make contact”. I actually heard Alan Shearer use this one not long ago. So apparently pundits are now blessed with the ability to read players minds. If Mr Shearer can really do this then i suggest that he go for a career in law next. They love that kind of stuff. Or maybe do tarot card readings at county fairs. Referees decisions can not be based around the alleged intent of a player. If that’s the case then any shots would have to be awarded as goals because the player intended to score. Well all of them except those taken by Nicklas Bendtner, who clearly has no intention of scoring ever again.
Until the type of language displayed above is removed from the football dictionary then nothing is going to change. It will continue to get worse until such time as an attacker entering the penalty area expects a penalty just for being there. Obviously that is an exaggeration but nothing grinds on me as much as diving and cheating. A simple fix would be a 5 match ban for any player retrospectively caught doing it. This might not change some decisions on the day, but it would act as a deterrent for players thinking of doing it in the first place. Sure they may get a penalty but then their team would lose them for 5 games. No team would let players do that so the problem would be solved. Ashley Young is the only exception to this as it seems all he brings to the team is the occasional decision won through diving. So i think they could cope without him for the 5 games.
Another more draconian punishment would be to have to offending player be forced to sit out the next game. Would they get to stay at home? Would they have to sit in the stands? No they’d have to stand between the technical areas wearing a scuba suit. Providing some much needed humility and also some entertainment for the crowd, especially if the match happens to be an away game at Stoke City.
Some of these idea’s may be comical but this is a serious issue that is plaguing the game and the quicker FIFA takes their hands out of their brown envelopes and actually does something the better.
About the Author
SYC Matt A football fan just like the rest of us. Battling with the usual ups and downs that come with supporting one of the less glamorous teams. Crusader for footballing justice.
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