Zaha isn’t cheating.. nor was I

WILFRIED ZAHA is NOT a cheat, if he is going down in the box when there is contact.

When fast, skilful players, like the Crystal Palace winger, are running with the ball at speed, it doesn’t need a wrecking ball to knock them off-balance.

Yes, there is a debate to be had about whether Zaha (below) and others exaggerate their falls to win penalties and free-kicks. And I accept contact in the box does not automatically mean it’s a foul and therefore a penalty.

When you are going full pelt, and you sense there’s a heavy challenge coming, it’s human nature to collapse your leg in anticipation of the collision, to brace yourself for the impact.

It’s up to referees to decide whether defenders have committed any offence, but we have to be very careful before we start branding people cheats.

Some people are only going to be satisfied when Zaha is out of the game for six months, with a broken leg in plaster, because defenders think they have a licence to clatter him.

For me, cheating is throwing yourself to the ground in an attempt to deceive the ref when there has been NO contact.

In 631 games, there were a few where fans thought I had cheated them – but I don’t think I actually cheated in any of them.

In the 1999 League Cup final, where Tottenham’s Justin Edinburgh was sent off for swinging an arm at me, did he make contact? Yes – although only enough to brush my hair.

Did I exaggerate the contact? Yes – but I didn’t invent it. Did he deserve a red card? Well, he wouldn’t have been sent off if he had not lashed out. Was I a cheat? Not according to my definition of the word.