I agree with the sentiments of the majority of the opinions here in that i don't want to see us turn into a team of divers and pansies. It is something i am against and something that i hope doesn't spread throughout our Squad in the future. It is down to the referees to clamp down on this cheating behaviour but as we have seen for the last decade and more, referees seem reluctant to punish offenders. We all see it at corners, the amount of fouls that get committed at every corner are ridiculous, shirt pulling, holding etc.
You were right about Arnold and Salah though, they should have gone down as contact was made.
I can't remember how long ago it was but i remember David N'Gog diving for a penalty against Birmingham City when no contact had been made at all. It made me feel sick to the stomach that we would resort to such low measures to win a game. I don't think he was told to dive, he just did.
The only notorious diver we ever had was Suarez but in all fairness he was absolutely kicked the F***ing sh*t out of during his time in the Premier League. He received absolutely no protection from the British referees and saw to level out that bias by diving every now and then. I didn't like it but i understood why he did it.
Ultimately it is down to the referees to ensure the laws of the game are abided by but they clearly are too incompetent to do so. Until we see a drastic improvement in officiating at the top level of the game then cheating will continue to thrive. Hopefully VAR will remove this side of the game but the way they are implementing it is so wrong at all levels.
It's not something i advocate to be honest but i see where you are coming from.
I honestly can't see Jürgen stooping to that level though, he is too honest and proud.
With regards to the 1v1 situations i agree with you there but the problem with playing against a low block is that if you beat the first defender there is another one ready to take the ball from your toes within 5 yards, it's so tight in there as we saw on Saturday.
I'm hopeful VAR will eliminate the dark arts in the future, the sooner the better. It was also highlight corrupt officiating. For me, if a player deliberately cheats to get a player sent off then that player should be sent off. If the officials become firm with diving and cheating it will stop, that is a fact.
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