This is very much a “ Chicken and egg “ scenario and I accept that a player has to dive for a Referee to come into play, so the Dive always comes first… of that I have never disputed, cheats will be cheats.
However, if Ref’s consistently fail to punish players who dive, and history has proven this, players see this as an clear opportunity to gain an advantage and the incidences of diving increases….
If kids steal from a shop and the shop keeper fails to control this in house, and then if matters get worse and he / she also fails to get the Police involved, then word gets out that “ you can steal from this shop without punishment “
Unfortunately, this shop and shop keeper are seen as an easy target and guess what, more kids start stealing, however unpalatable that is, thats just the truth of the situation, just ask any experienced shop keeper or policeman.
I also have a different take on the so called, clear professional fouls.. IMHO regadless if there is a covering player or not, if you choose to take a player out with no clear attempt to win the ball, that is a significant step up from a yellow card which is awarded for a simple mis-timed tackle, and as such should be a straight red card.
At the moment the current punishment does not fit the crime, i will also add to that, it is irrelevant if it happens in the first minute of a big league game or final, if you commit the crime you do the time…simple as, this approach I believe will eventually dramatically reduce the number of professional fouls committed…
I appreciate we dont all see things the same way and its all very subjective, but thats my take on the matters we have argued over… all good.
Bookmarks