Do or Dive?

A no diving campaign poster. Photo: footballandmusic.co.uk

“What happens on the pitch has far too often become the cheats taking physical exercise,” according to British author David Yallop and this is why.

Football, in many ways, can be thought of as a pantomime.

Players are willing to sacrifice their dignity by falling theatrically and pretending to be seriously hurt to fool the referee.

This stage act is known as diving, or ‘simulation’ as Fifa call it, and is a form of cheating.

Football pundit Gary Lineker once proposed that ‘pink’ cards be issued for such cowardly behaviour. However, the problem has become so widespread and serious that it is harming the sport.

Studies on football fouls show there is an intent to manipulate the officials’ judgment on the effect of a tackle.

Players often attempt to exaggerate injuries from challenges in order to deceive the referee into awarding a free-kick or penalty and even to get an opposition player red-carded.

Although such incidents are perceived as being ‘part of the game’, Fifa president Sepp Blatter said in an interview with The Times that football should be ‘fair’:

“Our society is a cheating society and this is something we have to take out of football.” (Sepp Blatter, March 2008)

In a poll of 200 fans from England and Ireland, 76% of respondents wanted stricter sanctions for cheating.

Yet Fifa still refuse to do anything about it. They rejected pleas by the English FA to use video evidence to punish divers and have declined to support no diving campaigns from groups like The Times and The Mail.

Despite Blatter’s preaching of ‘fair play’ in football, the message Fifa are sending out on this evidence is: ‘we tolerate cheating’. Ex-sports minister Richard Caborn told press he fears such antics are damaging the game:

“It [cheating] gives football a bad name and sets a poor example for youngsters.” (Richard Carbon, February 2006)

Author Jon Garland though says players under pressure to win will exploit the officials in their efforts to gain an advantage. He predicts in ‘The Future of Football’ that attempts to mislead the referee will continue.

But Paddy Mulligan, who played right-back for Chelsea, says action needs to be taken now:

Somebody has to make a stand. I’m fed up watching people cheating on the pitch and it’s happening every week all over the world.” (Paddy Mulligan, May 2010)

Brian Little is another former professional player who opposes diving. The ex-Aston Villa striker says the non-contact nature of the modern game has caused more footballers to play-act:

“Diving and stuff like that is something which comes about based on the fact that there is not enough contact in the game. If there was more, we might cancel out some of the diving.” (Brian Little, July 2010)

Fifa say there are rules in place which allow referees to punish players who dive. But many feel the Laws of the Game are not adequate and need to be revised.

English referee Graham Poll wrote in The Mail that the rewards for diving far outweigh the risks.

A player can win a penalty, for example Eduardo in Arsenal v Celtic, or get a member of the opposition sent-off, for instance Kaka’s red card for a ‘foul’ on Kader Keita during Brazil v Ivory Coast.

Whereas if a player is caught diving, like Aiden McGeady in Celtic v Hibernian, they only receive a yellow card (a second booking in McGeady’s case).

Alan Matthews, who manages Irish club Shelbourne, admits this is not enough to discourage players from diving:

“If there were harsher sanctions or ways of punishing players, it would stop.” (Alan Matthews, May 2010)

Matthews suggests the use of ex-players as officials would curb cheating in the game. While in theory this seems plausible, in practice author Simon Freeman claims it would not work.

Freeman notes in ‘Own Goal!‘ how former Nottingham Forest defender Steve Baines, the only ex-professional player of all Football League officials in 2000, found the transition difficult. Baines would often ignore gamesmanship like players retreating at free-kicks, while non-playing referees would punish this.

Sports writer Vincent Hogan though claims the problem lies with football coaches who have a ‘double standard’ view of cheating:

“Managers suit their own agenda and sidestep the truth a lot of the time.” (Vincent Hogan, May 2010)

Ex-Crystal Palace boss Iain Dowie suggested in a BBC interview that managers should set an example by punishing players who dive. For instance, Dowie imposed a fine on Sándor Torghelle for diving against Charlton in a League Cup tie in 2005.

Financial penalties, however, have little or no impact on millionaire sports stars in modern football.

Another option is to introduce remedies for unsporting behaviour like the sin-bin in rugby and ice-hockey. But the most effective solution, as Mulligan mentioned in his reaction, is suspension.

Just as players can be banned for violent conduct after a game, the same could apply for diving.

If a player is forced to miss a few games through suspension, they may refrain from cheating at the risk of losing their place in the team. An example of this is Lithuania’s Saulius Mikoliunas, who was banned for two matches after diving to win a penalty against Scotland in a Euro 2008 qualifier.

Uefa president Michel Platini admits diving during his playing career, but told press he believes the use of extra officials rather than sanctions will eliminate the problem:

“Once we have five officials, players will give up simulating because referees will see them.” (Michel Platini, August 2009)

At the time of writing, Fifa has announced that extra assistants will be used for the Uefa Champions’ League, Europa League and Super Cup this season. So it will be interesting to see if cynical attempts to cheat like Sergio Busquets’ during Barcelona v Inter will be spotted and punished.

(polls)