Taylor: use video to catch divers

PLAYERS’ union chief Gordon Taylor yesterday demanded a zero-tolerance policy on diving and called for video technology to be used to catch offenders. Taylor’s comments followed the second penalty controversy in the space of a week involving Manchester United forward Ashley Young, who was criticised for what even Sir Alex Ferguson described as a ‘dramatic fall’ in Sunday’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa. Taylor (right), the PFA chief executive, said: ‘When it’s blatant, when players are feigning injury or holding parts of the body that weren’t even touched to try to exaggerate a contact or get an opponent booked or sent off, that needs to be condemned and that can’t be tolerated. ‘From that point of view, it’s up to all authorities, including the referees and with the aid of technology, to make sure there is education and appropriate sanctions when it is blatant so that the message will get through.’ As the introduction of goal-line technology draws near, Taylor called for video reviews to be extended so match officials can detect any form of cheating. He added: ‘No doubt there will then be a debate about should we use it to see if contact was made. Was it a penalty? Was it a free-kick? ‘In really crucial situations, I see no reason why the referee can’t hold up play for a period of time, albeit a short time, to see that justice is done.’ Ferguson admitted on Sunday that Young is in danger of earning a reputation for going to ground too easily, and is expected to speak to the England forward about it this week. There are concerns the negative coverage could rebound on United in the final four games of the title race if referees turn down stronger penalty claims. Sunday’s incident followed another controversial award against QPR that saw Shaun Derry sent off for his challenge on Young. Ferguson has previously referred to diving as a ‘disease’ within football, and similar issues involving Ruud van Nistelrooy, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney have been dealt with

in-house. Ferguson described Rooney’s performance against Villa as ‘careless’ and substituted him for the second game in a row, even though United’s top scorer fired two more goals to take his total for the season to 31 — three short of his record. It also means Rooney has scored 178 career goals for United, one short of the legendary George Best. ‘It would be great to equal the record and, hopefully, surpass him,’ said Rooney. ‘Hopefully, it will happen before the end of the season. ‘It was nice to score two goals but I didn’t think my performance was good enough. I was disappointed with that but, obviously, I’m happy with the goals. ‘Points are important at this time of the year and, if I can score the goals that get those points, I’ll be pleased.’