As a referee, albeit at an amateur level, I get really annoyed when professional referees are slated by fans and the media alike for giving penalties or free kicks when the replays from angles that the man in the middle doesn’t have, show it was a dive. It’s as if people think the referee has just decided to give a penalty for the sake of it and that he’s out to deliberately ruin the game. Or he supports the rival team!
The referee can only give what he sees. If the player times it right, it can look like a bad foul. Are the referees and assistants to blame for being fooled? In my opinion, no they’re not. It’s the cheat that threw himself to the ground that is at fault.
It was put to me that when some players are accused of diving, are they simply jumping out the way to avoid injury? Possibly, but not when they get up screaming for a penalty, knowing they haven’t been touched. For me that is a blatant act of cheating.
It happens too often in the modern game. Players overreacting to the slightest of touches and going down when they could’ve stayed on their feet or feigning injury, like Swansea’s Chico Flores did after challenging West Ham United’s Andy Carroll. It’s a blatant attempt to get a fellow player sent off which is just cheating!
For me what is worse is players going down under no contact, before the challenge comes in or like Ashley Young did a little while back, kicking his opponents leg and going down.
So the grand old question remains, how can the powers that be get rid of the cheats? For millionaire footballers will a few thousand pound fine make any difference to them? No.
For me, there are two options:-
1). A panel of referees or ex-referees review all decisions after the game. Looking at all angles available and decide if the player has dived. If so, then the player in question should receive a 3 match ban. Doubling each time they are found guilty of cheating.
2). The fourth official can view a monitor that will show the replays with in seconds. He can, via radio, let the referee know that it was a dive and an indirect free kick to the defending team. I would have the standard yellow card upgraded to a red card and as option number one a 3 match ban which again would double each time.
The right punishment for diving?
Sound a bit drastic? Maybe, but I bet the third time someone dived and was found out and got a 12 match ban he then would probably stop diving!
Obviously it would have to be proved beyond any reasonable doubt that it was a definite dive. If all the angles fail to prove this then the accused would have to be given the benefit of the doubt and have no action taken against them.
I strongly believe that this will dramatically reduce the number of divers in our beloved game.
FIFA seem to be a bit reluctant to use technology to help referees. Goal line technology has just started to be used and is proving to be a success, so hopefully the referees will get the help needed to stamp out the cheats completely!
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