The curse of diving in football

The reputation of European football this has week taken a battering this week after the debacle of the Champions League semi final between Real Madrid and Barcelona. The first leg at the Bernabeau in particular saw some particularly blatant rule breaking, yet despite the unashamed openness of the diving, and the impact it had on the game, none of the charges on UEFA’s laundry list related to the issue. It would seem that yet again UEFA have failed in their obligation to uphold the laws of the game

Real Madrid’s containing tactics were working well, shutting out one of the best attacking sides of all time for nearly 4 hours all told, including the recent league and cup games. It may not have been pretty but it was effective, and Barca were having no luck breaking down the Madrid defence. When Dani Alves dived to get Pepe red carded Barca, not for the first time, cheated to achieve the result that they weren’t able to by fair means, and not long after the red card Barca scored twice, effectively ending the tie. It is of course possible that Barca may have scored anyway, and it is not like Real Madrid are a side that always play by the rules but what happened cheated the Madrid players, not to mention millions of viewers, out of a fair game

Diving is nothing new to the Spanish game. Any regular viewer of La Liga will know that it is an all too regular occurrence. Players such as Alves, Iniesta,  Ronaldo and Puyol spend as much time rolling round on the floor as they do showing off their not inconsiderable talents. The Spanish national team are also no strangers to the dark arts, and it is debatable whether they, despite being the best footballing team at the tournament, would have won the World Cup if it wasn’t for their diving. Three times Spanish players had opponents red carded due to their diving. The first time, when Fernando Torres dived to get Estrada sent off, they were already 2-0 up but struggling to contain a lively Chile side. The score finished 2-1. The second card occurred against Portugal when Capdevillia’s theatrics got Ricardo Costa sent off despite their being no contact, they were just one goal to the good. The third, and most important, was in the final against Holland, when Andres Iniesta went to the ground following the lightest of brushes on his shoulder by Johnny Heitinga, occurred when the score was 0-0. Spain scored soon after to win the match 1-0.

Diving is by no means a purely Spanish problem, it’s just that they’ve been the worst offenders over recent years. Players like Maradonna and Klinnsman were well known for their skills in falling over theatrically, as have many players from South America, Africa and Southern Europe. There certainly seems to be something in the Latin mentality and sporting culture that make it acceptable to win at all costs. In this country we have traditionally had a more sporting reputation, a fair play mentality. However in recent years diving has crept into the Premier League. Cristiano Ronaldo will forever be the player most closely associated with the practice, but imports such as Drogba, Nani, Pedersen and Eduardo are all well known divers, as are England internationals Ashley Young, Theo Walcott and Steven Gerrard.

The laws on diving are clear; the rules state that a player must be cautioned if a player ‘attempts to deceive the referee by feigning injury or pretending to have been fouled’. While it is admittedly difficult to police as players have become so adept at conning officials there are plenty of tools available to the authorities to combat the problem. In European football there are five officials instead of the usual three, supposedly making dives easier to spot. Video evidence can be used as television cameras can almost always differentiate between a genuine foul and a player making a meal out of a challenge. In fact, video evidence has been used to ban Lithuanian striker Saulius Mikoliunas after the forward dived in order to obtain a penalty in a match against Scotland in 2007. So UEFA have the law on their side, all the tools at their disposal, and the precedent to use them. So why don’t they?

UEFA have always been reluctant to introduce any measures that remove decision making powers away from the officials. We see this with their reluctance to introduce goal line technology. Retrospective punishment is only used in cases that the official has not seen, so even if a referee has seen a decision but has made the wrong call UEFA refuse to review it. The English FA have repeatedly called for retrospective punishment, and the both the Scottish and the Italian FA have actually introduced it, (Juventus midfielder Milos Krasic was recently banned for 2 games for diving) but UEFA are not interested. This is despite both Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini admitting that diving is an issue and needs to be addressed

The reality is that diving has seemingly become an accepted part of the sport. We’ve become desensitised to the seriousness of the issue by the regularity at which we see it in our game, and the lack of any serious clampdown by the authorities gives the air that the problem is not a serious one. Both Theo Walcott and Didier Drogba have admitted to diving, whilst Sam Allardyce claims that diving is ‘professional’. I know people who agree, whilst others blame the referee’s for failing to spot the infringement. It has been suggested to me, correctly, that diving is not the only form of cheating around in the game, but it is the most deceitful and damaging form of cheating, and also the one that goes unpunished far more often than any other

The result is that referees are constantly vilified and innocent players are regularly punished despite there being no wrongdoing, and the reputation of the sport is taking a serious beating. It also makes playing certain players impossible. If you tackle Ronaldo or Iniesta, there is a good chance they will fall to the floor, stand off them and they’ll punish you. More importantly than it being embarrassing to watch grown men role round on the floor for no reason, the effects go beyond football; teams such as Barcelona have an enormous following around the world, particularly amongst children and young people, and their best players are idolised. I don’t always believe that player’s behaviour off the pitch should be scrutinised to the extent that it is, but conduct on the pitch is a different matter, and millions of children will see the actions of players such as Mascherano, Pedro and Alves during the Champions League semi-final and will believe that it is ok to deceive and cheat their way through life. This is a dangerous message to send out to children, and it makes Barcelona unfit to wear the UNICEF logo on their shirts. Excuses such as ‘well, they play such nice football’ don’t wash anymore

There are suggestions by those in the game as to what can be done to tackle the issue. The most favourable, if UEFA will allow it, would be that of a panel of former referees and players that sits and dishes out bans to those who have been caught diving. This would be the most effective option as it would be officially sanctioned, decided by professionals who know the game, and because TV cameras, unlike referees, have the benefit of replays and a variety of angles. Once a couple of two match bans have been dished out diving would soon stop. Ian Dowie has also suggested that managers should be taking the initiative and banning their players if they are caught in the act. I think everyone would like to see players take responsibility for their own actions but in today’s high risk game some players will always seek to gain any extra edge. As Graham Poll said of diving; for the players ‘the rewards outweigh the risks’. It is going to be down to the authorities, especially UEFA and FIFA, to take the lead in clamping down. There also needs to be greater focus on the issue in the mainstream press and on football programmes, with offending players highlighted and shamed. Diving is ruining the game, and the time for empty words is over; the time for action has come