WENG LOVES DIVES BAR!
Arsene’s delighted over rules changes
ARSENE WENGER last night declared himself “a big fan” of the FA’s war on diving.
This season a player guilty of conning officials through a serious act of simulation will be hit with a retrospective two-match suspension.
Punishing cheats after a game has been used in Scotland successfully for the past two years.
And Arsenal boss Wenger openly welcomed the English FA’s attempt to rid modern football of arguably its most despised scourge.
Before this afternoon’s Community S hi el d between his FA Cup holders and Premier League champs Chelsea, the Frenchman gave his full support to the new regulations this side of the border.
Claiming supporters are sick of cheating, Wenger, 67, said: “I’m a big fan of these rules to stop diving.
“You want cheating out of the game – fans want to watch football not people dive.
“They pay a l ot of money. We want to make it clean and as fluent as possible. You cannot be against it if you want to get this out of football.”
Wenger’s full public backing of the proposed clampdown may surprise some given his record down the years of defending Arsenal players accused of f eigning being fouled. During the Invincibles’ title success of 2003-04, French midfielder Robert Pires was s l aughtered f or ‘winning’ a penalty in
a home draw against Portsmouth after video evidence proved he was not touched.
Equally controversial was the two-match ban imposed on Gunners’ Croatian striker Eduardo in 2009 after he was accused of diving in a Champions League clash with Celtic.
Eduardo protested his innocence and UEFA agreed, overturning the suspension.
Even now t hough, Wenger is unsure if the Br a z i l - b o r n pl aye r actually committed any crime.
The Emirates supremo went on: “I still haven’t decided if he did.
“The criticism was all aimed at him. Yet there were other people diving in the league who weren’t criticised as much.”
When it comes to ruling on the divers in 2017-18, Wenger believes it must be a clear-cut case to throw the book at an individual.
That is easier said than done, particularly in the current age of Premier League stars crashing to the ground at the slightest hint of a tackle.
“You can’t be so sure nowadays.
“A good diver puts a bit of doubt in your mind,” said Wenger.
“It has to be completely obvious and that will be down to the panel.
“Sometimes the guy touches your leg and you have to go down but you may have made a little more of it.
“To make more of this is to play with the rules.”