SA Footy

Chelsea had 2 booked for diving this week end and If the ref had shown some balls he'd have booked Cahill too, which would have meant a red card.
Pocognoli for WBA was booked for diving and there was furore on the BBC that Johnson was awarded a penalty for Sunderland after he dived.

The word "dived" was taboo only a few seasons ago with TV pundits, the press and fellow footballers rarely accusing anyone except for the most blatant. Last night Robbie Savage on the BBC match of the day readily accused Johnson of diving.
There is also talk of retrospective punishment for a player if, after match reviews, it is felt he dived.

So are referees getting fed up with the antics of overpaid Prima Dona's? I do hope so as it has been a blight on the game for too long and something that infuriates the average football fan. Refs do seem less adverse to booking players for "simulation" (diving to everyone else), this season.

Football is a contact sport and the pendulum has been swinging too far the other way for too long If a player is going to go to ground for the slightest touch, then the officials need to take action and bring out a card. If they fail or aren't able to make the judgement call an independent committee comprising of ex players and referees needs to do it for them. It's not rocket science.

And congratulations to Cazorla who stayed on his feet to score for Arsenal when he could so easily have gone down for a penalty.

Yep, time to stamp it out.

johntheclaret wrote:And congratulations to Cazorla who stayed on his feet to score for Arsenal when he could so easily have gone down for a penalty.

Well said mate, that was great to see (tidy goal too)

Amazingly Mourinho didn't see any of the Chelsea dives at the week end,
Cahill didn't dive and Chelsea are a "clean team"

HoHoHo Merry Christmas everyone

Not sure how it will be policed thou

Can they use the goal line technology ( not that actual device but something like it ) ? Like the cricket thing where it can be challenged with the ref maybe 2 times during the game?

They struggled to allow the goal line technology with FIFA president stating he wants to keep technology out of it and keep it more human? Refs have spilt second decisions to make, whether it is liked by most or not. Its part of the game that can never be stamped out IMO. a clear dive that is seen , yes, but most penalties ( lets be honest here ) maybe 50/50 are barely a touch on the attacking player

and all managers , including wenger, will say "he did not dive and i didnt see it " when everyone else in the world did.

Still think retrospective bans are the way to go.
Have a panel of 2 or 3 who sit and watch replays of every game. Any diving incidents and they cop a ban, 2 games first offence and increasing for each offence.
Guarantee within a month the dives are almost eliminated

Jim05 wrote:Still think retrospective bans are the way to go.
Have a panel of 2 or 3 who sit and watch replays of every game. Any diving incidents and they cop a ban, 2 games first offence and increasing for each offence.
Guarantee within a month the dives are almost eliminated

Absolutely, come down hard early with bans and watch them stay on their feet!

Bully wrote:Not sure how it will be policed thou

Can they use the goal line technology ( not that actual device but something like it ) ? Like the cricket thing where it can be challenged with the ref maybe 2 times during the game?

They struggled to allow the goal line technology with FIFA president stating he wants to keep technology out of it and keep it more human? Refs have spilt second decisions to make, whether it is liked by most or not. Its part of the game that can never be stamped out IMO. a clear dive that is seen , yes, but most penalties ( lets be honest here ) maybe 50/50 are barely a touch on the attacking player

and all managers , including wenger, will say "he did not dive and i didnt see it " when everyone else in the world did.

easy, the ref isn't 100% sure if it was a dive or a genuine foul. send it to the video ref and if it is a dive the diver gets a red card... Get off... Sh*t part of the game and is a dead set joke players do it...

Chelsea were a disgrace...

nuggety goodness wrote:

Jim05 wrote:Still think retrospective bans are the way to go.
Have a panel of 2 or 3 who sit and watch replays of every game. Any diving incidents and they cop a ban, 2 games first offence and increasing for each offence.
Guarantee within a month the dives are almost eliminated

Absolutely, come down hard early with bans and watch them stay on their feet!

Agree, that's the way to go. The ref can't be responsible as Bully righty states, he only has a second to decide.

LOL
Adryan's was the worst
http://fallondfloor.com/

Totally agree diving needs tone stamped out of the game and retrospective bans is the way to go

But

The only bans imho which the 'panel' would be able to suspended players for is ones where the player has dived and clearly ZERO contact has been made

For me the biggest issue though is players diving where only the tiniest contact is made, unfortunately I don't think a panel watching the game can or would consistently be able to make judgement when contact is involved

Body shape and position of the legs tells you all you need to know.
Most players going to ground too easily find it hard to do it naturally, mainly because the movement isn't natural and because of that their leg and body shape is usually all wrong.
Adam Johnson's dive for the penalty last week was a good example. He felt the slightest touch and went down. He was probably waiting for the "opportunity" and even after having time to anticipate the contact, he still threw both legs backward in some unnatural position to allow his body to collapse.
We are preprogrammed to minimise damage to our bodies. So dives either look absolutely blatant like Pocognoli's or they look unnatural like Johnson's.
I can understand the ref getting fooled, as he does only have a split second to decide and his decision can / does influence a game, ask Sunderland, but retrospective action is the only solution.
A review panel can watch a game, re-run an incident as many times as they need and decide if a dive took place. They can't change the outcome of the game but they can issues bans to the player concerned.

Personally I'd start with a minimum 3 match ban just like a sending off. Then if it happens again in a 12 month period it's another 3 games. More than twice and the ban doubles each time. So a player found guilty of diving 3 times in less than 12 months would be out for 12 games. Harsh I know but it would soon stop the diving.

this has come up again ( nothing unusual thou with diving players ) after fabregas's "dive" and Jose letting fly at everyone after the match

imagine how good the game and play would be if they didn't dive, they would stay on their feet and let their skill do the talking

cossi11 wrote:imagine how good the game and play would be if they didn't dive, they would stay on their feet and let their skill do the talking

Absolutely. Players are all too willing to go down but hard bans will make them think twice about it.

I love Boyan, he's got some great touch and close control but he goes down way too easy. Against your mob Cossi was a perfect example. Mccarthy (?) gave him the slightest nudge and over he goes winning a real soft penalty and ultimately deciding a match.

Retrospective bans, although don't help in the immediate, would stamp it out.

And its easy to see if its a dive, players let their legs trail knowing there'll be contact and then they cover their face or put it to the ground so you cant see the lack of pain on their face despite their flailing on the ground like a fish out of water...

No chance it will ever die why???

Added time West Ham a goal down, Amalfatano has the ball near the byline in the box gets bear hugged and a massive tug on his shirt, decideds to keep his feet and play the ball, the ball goes no where in a crowded box and no penalty given

If he hits the deck instead his almost guaranteed to get the deciscion go his way instead west ham are left wondering

Good guys finish last

whufc wrote:No chance it will ever die why???

Added time West Ham a goal down, Amalfatano has the ball near the byline in the box gets bear hugged and a massive tug on his shirt, decideds to keep his feet and play the ball, the ball goes no where in a crowded box and no penalty given

If he hits the deck instead his almost guaranteed to get the deciscion go his way instead west ham are left wondering

Good guys finish last

This is one of my biggest Bug Bears!! I loathe diving, but the Ref's have brought the epidemic on themselves by not awarding penalties unless players go down. So I agree with all of the above in relation to retrospectively sanctioning players, but the Refs need to pay fouls in the box regardless of the theatrics of a player going to ground.