Thursday 23 January 2014

Why diving still prevails in football

Diving has become a central topic of discussion amongst football supporters and in the media during recent years. Many see the influx of foreign players in to the Premier League as a major contributing factor to what now appears to be an epidemic spreading throughout the sport. Perhaps there are other reasons behind the continuance of the widely condemned practice of diving, though.

Although there is a substantial presence of cameras at stadiums, capturing the action from every angle possible, a number of professional footballers continue to display naivety and still commit one of football’s most frustrating offences.

So why do players continue to dive? It is because the Football Association does not take any retrospective action against diving. Some footballers are happy to risk a booking in order to win a penalty or a free-kick for their team that can potentially change the game because they know the extent of their punishment is soft.  There are numerous occasions when they escape being noticed and, therefore, being booked, which means that some divers receive no sanctions at all for their actions. Even though there is sufficient evidence to exploit divers after matches, the FA does not distribute punishment. When there are incidents of violent conduct in football matches that go unnoticed by the match officials, English football’s governing body will often hand out suspensions retrospectively.

Why don’t they do the same for diving? The only drawback with retrospective action is that the punishment will not change the outcome of a match where diving has a direct influence on the score line so there is very
little consolation for the victims of this form of cheating. However, the idea of suspensions will undoubtedly work towards discouraging this negative behaviour, deterring the suspects from diving in the future.

Did Suarez dive to win the penalty?
It is a subject that has been the centre of much controversy in the Barclays Premier League this season. Manchester United’s Adnan Januzaj and Ashley Young have both been guilty of diving, with Januzaj being booked three times so far this season for such an act. For a player with such potential and talent, Januzaj’s theatrical nature is beginning to build an unwanted reputation. Luis Suarez’s role in winning Liverpool a penalty against Aston Villa at the weekend has been questioned after  the Uruguayan international was accused of going down too easily, prompting another question…

Is there a difference between diving and going down under minimal contact? A large proportion of players anticipate contact when approaching the goal or try to make the contact themselves as they look for a reason to go down.

Januzaj has been regularly
accused of diving this season
Admittedly, there are incidents when players like Januzaj are booked for diving when they have actually been fouled. It is difficult to sympathise with them. After all, it is players like Januzaj who have established a reputation from their previous behaviour so referees, rightly or wrongly, expect them to dive.

In terms of the referees’ handling of diving, it is fair to say that, in spite of players trying to con officials, their ability to identify the matter has been impressive so far this season, with some officials making fantastic decisions under difficult circumstances.

Video technology used during a game to determine a dive or foul could prevent diving having an influence on the match but this would potentially be too disruptive and time consuming.


As a result of the patterns emerging in football, it seems that retrospective action could be an effective way of enforcing a clear anti-diving policy. Suspensions for three matches have to be introduced. With the money players are earning, the distribution of fines is not a strong enough consequence to deter diving. If players face missing several matches in succession, then it is more likely that players will take note and, more significantly, managers will start to play their part by discouraging diving because they will want to have their players available for selection. 

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