THAT’S ENOUGH, WE MUST CRACK DOWN ON CHEATS
It’s time for football to act after the latest wave of diving and deception...
Marcus rashford was not even nine months old on the day in 1998 when Michael Owen tricked roberto ayala in a game that changed English football’s perception of diving.
Very few were prepared to criticise Owen as he sped past argentina’s ayala and hit the ground in the World cup secondround clash in saint-Etienne.
England were trailing to a disputed penalty and, when Diego simeone overreacted and David Beckham was sent off, the ‘If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em’ attitude was reinforced.
Four years later, another World cup and Owen was tumbling again. This time Mauricio Pochettino was the argentina defender pleading he never touched him.
again, there were few complaints when Beckham whacked in the spot-kick and savoured a little sweet revenge. Nobody mentioned cheating or conning the referee; there had been contact.
‘Don’t believe English football is fair, because Owen jumped like he was in a swimming pool,’ said Pochettino earlier this season in response to the focus on Dele alli’s diving habit.
at Tottenham on sunday, Harry Kane made the most of a clip from Gabriel Paulista. By winning and scoring the penalty, Kane ensured spurs beat arsenal, finished above their rivals in the league for the first time in 22 years and stay within four points of chelsea at the top.
Earlier in the day, Owenwen had been at Old Trafford in his BT sport punditry role defend-ending rashford when thehe Manchester united teen-nager won a penalty inn the 1- 1 draw with swansea.
slow-motion replays from many angles showed rashford was mid- fall before goalkeeperr Lukasz Fabianski madee any contact. ‘ Having been in thathat situation, you’re defendingnding yourself rather than cheating,’heating’ said Owen.
‘completely disagree, blatant dive,’ raged alan shearer, who was England’s captain and scorer of the dubious penalty won by Owen in saint-Etienne in 1998.
These days, a generation on from Owen, it cannot be conveniently dismissed as a foreign trait.
swansea boss Paul clement fumed at rashford’s ‘ deception’ and it is the right word.
It is not new: Franny Lee had a diver’s reputation long before the advent of the Premier League and its imported players — and he wasn’t alone. Others, too, knew penalties could be won by dribbling into a crowd, clicking your heels and falling down.
But deception is rife and one of the most depressing realities of modern football.
alexis sanchez was struck on the shoulder by a throw from christian Fuchs of Leicester last week and pretended he was hit in the face. Four days later, sanchez handled the ball in the penalty area and slapped his ribcage to
fool theth referee. Liverpool’sLiverpoo Lucas Leiva was booked for a shocking dive last night. and on sunday, Leroy sane wrongly anticipated contact from Marten de roon, collapsed in a heap and won a penalty for Manchester city which may prove fatal for Middlesbrough come the final reckoning.
Pep Guardiola’s irritable defence was founded on the notion that bad decisions have cost city points. One, when raheem sterling tried to stay on his feet after being pushed by Kyle Walker of spurs, had resonance. Off balance, sterling missed an easy chance and no foul was given.
Liverpool’s Philippe coutinho suffered the same fate against crystal Palace.
If players have to fall to win the foul, they will fall. could Kane have stayed on his feet when Gabriel kicked him? Perhaps, but why take the risk with stakes so high?
This is subtly different to those falling down when not touched but football is a contact sport, unlike basketball where drawing the foul is part of the game’s terminology. Deep in this maze of sporting morals, nobody is sure where to turn next.
Middlesbrough can expect an Fa fine for the way their players hounded referee Kevin Friend, but sunday’s divers are safe.
‘Introduce retrospective bans and it will be gone,’ said Burnley manager sean Dyche in December. The scottish Fa operate with this system and there is support for it within the Fa, but when uEFa banned arsenal striker Eduardo for a dive against celtic in 2009, they were forced to overturn it on appeal.
although the referee may have got it wrong, there was no proof that Eduardo, a player coming back after an horrific broken leg, had deliberately set out to deceive.
The precedent makes the heart sink a little further as you imagine wealthy Premier League clubs armed with the best lawyers dragging sporting issues through a tangled legal process.
But it might be worth a try. something has to be done.
“Introduce retrospective bans and it will be gone”