MARTIN SAMUEL: STOP THESE EXCUSES FOR DIVING
Antonio Conte looked, for the first time, exhausted. He had just lost the Double to a great rival, and it had told. He was no longer the Energizer Bunny of the Stamford Bridge touchline. the fuel had been drained and he spoke, more than once, of needing to get away for a few days with his family.
So there is some mitigation for his words on the subject of Victor Moses’s dive; but also a note of warning. next season, managers are going to have to face facts and admit their players cheat.
they will have to be responsible; they will have to own up. From August, the stunt Moses tried to pull against Arsenal will earn him a two-game ban, as a result of the retrospective decisions of a Football Association review panel. Managers will either get with that programme, or prepare for some nasty surprises. they start educating their players, or lose them.
And they will appear ridiculous, too; which is what happened to Conte at Wembley.
He has been magnificent this season. not just in the turnaround at Chelsea, but in his demeanour. Passionate, honest, likeable, fair, he has made Chelsea popular champions and that has not always been the case.
Yet, on Saturday evening, asked about Moses’s tumble, he reverted to managerial type. He opened with what in chess might be called the Wenger Defence — i didn’t see it — and then moved into the abstract.
‘Sometimes i think it could be tiredness and i don’t think he did it with the real intention,’ said Conte. ‘We are at the end of the season and a lot of players are tired and then there is a lot of pressure. it is not a good situation to dive, but Moses is an honest player. if there was this situation he was tired, and he didn’t want to cheat the referee.’
taking pity after a difficult afternoon, nobody countered that if Moses was so tired, why didn’t he just collapse in his own half, rather than running all the way to Arsenal’s penalty area?
Players do go to ground to get a breather — the whole Eden Hazard-Eva Carneiro- Jose Mourinho spat stemmed from that — but this clearly wasn’t the case with Moses. He dived to try to claim a penalty and referee Anthony taylor bravely and correctly issued a second yellow card.
the denial of one of the most impressive coaches in the game, however, suggests the Football Association may experience real resistance to a much-needed reform next season.
We understand that managers protect their players — certainly one who has been as selfless as Moses for Chelsea — but what harm would there have been in Conte admitting fault? What harm in saying if the referee is correct, he will speak to Moses and tell him such behaviour is unacceptable. Managers must confront this problem at source or the review panel is going to be working overtime.
if Conte knew Moses would miss the first two games of next season, would he feel differently? if not, then the punishment is insufficient. it has to continue to rise — three matches, maybe four — until players feel the risk-reward is too great, and managers are wary of the cost and ready to relay the message.
otherwise, there are going to be a lot of tired players banned. At least they’ll be able to get some rest though.