Being a football fan in the United States, it’s not uncommon for me to hear criticisms of the sport in general. First off, ‘it’s not football, it’s soccer’. Well, no. Actually it’s not, because the whole world refers to ‘soccer’ as ‘football’ so that’s that. Other than the most basic of complaints about what people refer to the sport as, diving takes the drivers seat in the most-complained about aspects of the sport.
In the World Cup, Arjen Robben assured the world that diving is still an unfortunate yet massive of the sport, as did Fred, Neymar, and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Ironically enough, Neymar actually sustained a real injury when Juan Zuniga of Colombia kneed him in the back, effectively ending the Brazilian talisman’s World Cup.
After all the times I saw Neymar rolling around on the ground as if Popeye himself had walloped him in the face with a shovel, I wrote off the Zuniga challenge as another instance of his antics. However, I was wrong, and found myself wondering if Neymar’s parents ever told him the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.
Not that I would ever wish injury on an athlete, but this is one of the more poetically just things to have happened in Brazil. Diving is an action that should have no place in football. It is arguably the least enforced form of cheating in sports, and is a cowardly way of trying to deceive the neutral official into making a wrong decision.
If there is one league in Europe that is actually doing something about diving, it’s the premier league. It’s a fair dissertation to declare the premier league the fastest and most physical league in Europe. Often times, players joining the league from other leagues have a hard time adapting to these challenges.
Diego Costa, who previously plied his trade in Spain, was booked for diving yesterday in Chelsea’s opening visit to Burnley. Whether or not it was a dive is up for debate, but the fact of the matter is referees do their research and know the players they police on the pitch.
Michael Oliver may have made the wrong decision (one could also argue that Costa, already well off-balance, left his right leg out in an effort to create the contact himself) but he did the right thing. Booking Costa on the opening set of fixtures for diving sets a tone for the season and gives teams an idea of how officials are going to judge these calls.
Widely considered the two most prone divers in England, Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale now ply their trade in Spain. During his tenure in the premier league, Suarez was the constant center of controversy, and was never in the good graces of referees who knew of his exploits.
Similarly, Gareth Bale was one of the more harshly officiated players in the league, having actually accumulated enough simulation yellow cards to merit a ban in his final term with Spurs. I’m not taking anything away from these two outstanding footballers, but from a diving point of view it’s a relief to see them gone.
Here in the States, football takes a back seat to several other sports. In my humble opinion one of the things holding football back in this country is the reputation for simulation. Anyone who says there isn’t diving in the States is full of it though; just look at Lebron James’ antics over the years.
However, the NBA, for one, is doing something about it. In the last two seasons, the governing body of basketball has begun handing out fines for players who dive, something European football leagues should take into consideration. The premier league is tough, relentless, and physical, but these are the exact reasons it’s the best league to watch in Europe.
