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Must We Complain So Fervently About Diving?

Gareth Bale may have tried to win a penalty with his dive against Inter, but does he really deserve the criticism he receives? Matt Stanger feels rather indifferent to it all...

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Comments 1 - 10 of (43)

soul controller (Tottenham Hotspur) says...

I'm far more concerned with violent fouls than diving. The people who hate diving the most are almost always the people who have played football the least. They do not understand that as an attacking player, you are constantly fouled by the opposition and a only a low percentage of these fouls are penalised by the ref. Shirt pulling, tripping, elbows, knees, kicks, stamps take place in every match at every level and are not caught by the refs. The only counterbalance to this behaviour is diving. Yes, many dives are ridiculously over the top but my reaction is that they need to execute a better, more realistic dive. Nothing should be done about diving until something is done about subtle violent fouls first. Diving is a reaction and the only way to counterbalance subtle violent fouls. Of course, this will surely go over the head of those of you with no experience playing organised football at any decent level. You guys can keep being "fans". Fans are not concerned with logic, reason or reality. They just want to love their club and their club's players while hating other clubs and players of other clubs.

Posted 4:26pm 14th March 2013

bfom (Manchester City) says...

Up there with the worst articles published on this site. Matt you been holidaying in Buenos Aires for a while? I'd have nige D J all day long you blouse, its fairy talk like that, that has robbed us of the long lost art of tackling. Fall like Bale did, and u deserve an injury

Posted 1:27pm 13th March 2013

dryice says...

I think the whole debate is aimed at the wrong things? Of the past 4 bookings that Bale has recieved there has been some contact, now if the ref hadnt of issued the yellow then I dont believe any would have been cited as a dive. I think the card just promotes a discussion by pundits on whether the ref was right or wrong and by implication whether Bale dived or didnt. In any case the offence has been identified and punished accordingly at the time. The pundits should be identifying the dives that were missed and the discussions should be based on those if you want to try and remove it from the game. It's also no coincidence that the best spells of their respective careers have been when Suarez and Bale have been staying on their feet more.

Posted 1:26pm 11th March 2013

bright and edgy (Manchester City) says...

I really can't fathom a football fan that isn't incensed by diving. Forget the rules....watching a so called 'man' fling himself to the floor and then writhe around on the floor feigning injury is one of the most pathetic and ridiculous sights in sport. Everyone is entitled to an opinion but for those among us who don't see the problem with diving or glorify it...it does make me fear for the future of football....it seems these 'fans' would quite happily have all the players running round unopposed and covered head to toe in bubble wrap. It makes me sick.

Posted 1:07pm 11th March 2013

HarryBoulton says...

"I have never seen Gerrard dive and have watched almost every Pool game since he came into the team". Then clearly you have not watched almost every Liverpool game. Gerrards reputation as a diver is not unlike Rooneys. It's not habbitual, but based on a smaller number of high profile instances. Mud sticks, it seems, especially to those who command the most attention.

Posted 11:42am 11th March 2013

josh365 (Arsenal) says...

You know what's funny is that when Suarez dives, the articles that come out are articles like "should there be punishment for diving", "why would a player dive", and when Bale dives articles that come out are like "Must we complain so fervently about diving". It's a bit of a double standard, I can't of course name the exact article titles, but they were in that same vein.

Posted 8:19pm 9th March 2013

sean obrien says...

I have never seen Gerrard dive and have watched almost every Pool game since he came into the team.

Posted 4:22am 9th March 2013

seriously says...

What a completely embarrassing article.

Posted 10:22pm 8th March 2013

shagwa (Chelsea) says...

sir mince-a-lot, it's not at all ironic that a user has a handle celebrating Henry. It is possible to separate your admiration for a player from your embarrassment when he does something unsporting. There is even the possibility that he chose his moniker before Henry's handball against Ireland and didn't have another acceptable email address to re-register. I personally think Drogba was an amazing player but some of his antics were cringe-worthy. Same with Bale. Oh and to assuage your sense of bias I will call out my club's biggest diver this season... Branislav Ivanovic: diving is cheating and you shouldn't do it. Plus you are truly horrible at it.

Posted 9:00pm 8th March 2013

tk421 says...

I must be cut from a different cloth because I find diving quite funny. That said, when Ashley Young does it I want somebody to stamp on him really, really hard.

Posted 4:37pm 8th March 2013

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