its not simulation,its diving!

[SILVERBACK]

just watching the chelsea V barca game and listening to andy gray,after the messi tackle by del horno he`s been banging on about "simulation" now while my darker half is happy to see theatricals getting a chelsea player sent off (i bet pepe is made up) i think its a sorry state of affairs when we have to sugarcoat a word like CHEAT or to a lesser extent diver.football is getting more an more disshonest the more i watch.no wonder the rugby boys dont watch football that much lol.

[johnscarlet]

I didn't see much of the challenge , but what I did see was Del Horno not paying much attention to the ball when his challenge went in .
Easy way to solve the diving problem , an enforced recovery period of 10 minutes off the pitch with the physio . That would sort it out quicker than dishing out red and yellow cards . The physio would only come on the pitch to make sure the player could get safely to the touch line . All treatment (magic sponge etc ) could be administered then .

John

[LFC_SL]

Del Horno was clumsy and certainly didn't get much of the ball.....some refs only give yellows. This one gave a red. It wasn't a dive from Messi though

The solution to cheating I reckon is retrospective action...yes Fifa/Blatter Corp. would have to change their own rules...but I reckon a hardline one match ban where cheating leads to an advantage e.g. penalty or sending off

P.S. Great match Chelski vs Barca

[scrapbook]

Chelsea seem to be have been over ambitious in the second half.

I would have expected them to string four across the back and four across in midfield and hang on to what they had.

[doctorjuggles]

I'd also like to point out here that Del Horno did his fair share of rolling around to try and avoid punishment.
I hate diving as much as the next man, it's terrible, but to suggest Messi was the only one using theatricals to his own end is a little biased, because what's the difference between acting to get someone sent off, or acting to prevent yourself from being sent off? Cheating is cheating, I don't care what colour shirts they're wearing.

Andy Gray really annoys me too, because he makes his mind up initially on something (fair enough) but then when the evidence is presented in front of him, he'll stick to his story regardless of what the replay is telling him. Where most commentators would say "ah, that angle tells a different story" or something, Gray blindly refuses to admit he's ever read it wrong.
I'm thinking specifically of the Chelsea handball here, but there are countless other examples. He's not my favourite commentator anyway, but considering the standard of commentary around at the moment, he's be alright if he'd just learn that being occasionally wrong in a snap decision doesn't make him a bad pundit.

And that ref was terrible. He seemed to give free-kicks according to who he liked most at the time, rather than according to, you know, actual fouls and the like.

[Nebby]

Hats off to Jose, I don't know how he does it...

Just how on earth does he keep a straight face when damning Messi in his post match interviews?

As was pointed out on the radio earlier tonight, it's a real case of 'pot, kettle, black' with this guy, after the way is Porto team would collapse to the ground at the slightest contact.

And it looks like it's catching at Chelski too, with Robben and Joe Cole the leading exponents.

Still, cracking game - couldn't believe just how good some of the Barca players were - their close control on such a poor surface was amazing.

[KevD]

Originally Posted by LFC_SL

It wasn't a dive from Messi though

Your right, it wasn't a dive, most people who be knocked down in that situation. The difference, however, is most would get right back up.
I give Messi 10/10 for the performance on the floor
Whatever I think of him rolling on the floor like a little girl, he is some player

[dc007]

Del Horno's foul was bookable.... not a straight red, IMHO.

But then I feel he already should have been booked for catching Messi on the knee with his studs a few minutes earlier.

So, justice was done in the end, IMO.

Messi acted - but so does just about everyone nowadays.

Poetic justice for the Robben/Liverpool goalie incident of a few weeks ago... ?

[Steve T]

I find the whole thing very annoying. Del Horno - rolling around pretending to be injured becuase he knew a card was coming, and Messi legitimately hitting the ground but then taking a sneaky peak at the ref before performing his dying fly impression.

With all the talent on both sides it's pathetic, but sadly is widespread in the game. You get kids seeing these "world class" players acting in this way, so what do they do when they play at school etc etc.

I'm also an advocate of Johnscarlet's approach. If a player is injured on the field to the extent that play is stopped or a physio is called on; he needs to be removed from the field for a minimum 5 (maybe even 10 minutes). Then you only get players rolling around if they are really injured, and should stop a lot of this. In fact, when you are really injured you rarely roll around anyway - look at Alan Smith (and I do feel for the guy, and hope he makes a full recovery)

[JohnG]

I'm all for retrospective action. If they see a player cheating by video review then slap a 3 match ban on as a minimum. That will hopefully soon stop them from doing it.

[DJT75]

Originally Posted by JohnG

I'm all for retrospective action. If they see a player cheating by video review then slap a 3 match ban on as a minimum. That will hopefully soon stop them from doing it.

Couldn't agree more, to me that is the only way to curb this...The only thing is, will it stop this when a dive results in a winning penalty? 3pts or qualification through to the next round is worth a 3 game ban to some teams/players...

[booyaka]

Originally Posted by Steve T

I find the whole thing very annoying. Del Horno - rolling around pretending to be injured becuase he knew a card was coming, and Messi legitimately hitting the ground but then taking a sneaky peak at the ref before performing his dying fly impression.

With all the talent on both sides it's pathetic, but sadly is widespread in the game. You get kids seeing these "world class" players acting in this way, so what do they do when they play at school etc etc.

I'm also an advocate of Johnscarlet's approach. If a player is injured on the field to the extent that play is stopped or a physio is called on; he needs to be removed from the field for a minimum 5 (maybe even 10 minutes). Then you only get players rolling around if they are really injured, and should stop a lot of this. In fact, when you are really injured you rarely roll around anyway - look at Alan Smith (and I do feel for the guy, and hope he makes a full recovery)

Must admit that the above post sums up my views also.

Del Horno was not innocent party completely in this. He knows a card is coming and does his best to look innocent (yellow card was enough however) Messi did also roll around a bit too.

Did anyone see that little Reyes the other night in the Arsenal game. Gets injured in a tackle and ends up off the pitch, then rolls back on the pitch and expects Mardid to put the ball out of play so that he can get medical attention!!!! That is Cheating and no two ways about it!!!

[JohnG]

Very true, they could have won a penalty or got a vital player sent off, so maybe a 10 match ban would be more of a deterrent ? I can't see the agreeing to video evidence during the game, so unfortunately it has to be afterwards.

[2010]

I am a biased Chelsea fan (I'll admit it) but I feel the ref completely ruined the match last night.

Why are important games allowed to be referee'd by officials from relatively low quality leagues, its ridiculous, they are not used to dealing with high pressure games week in week out.

It will happen in the world cup (like it always does) & usually at the expense of us English

[mminghella]

I'll nail my colours to the flag first - I don't like Chelsea or Murinho and I am proud to support LFC.

I felt that last night, Chelsea got their just desserts. To hear The Chosen One going on about cheating makes me laugh - look at the state of the pitch. All that money available, but no pitch relaid????

Robben's theatricals getting Reina sent off????

Chelsea players hand-balling & shirt-pulling throughout the Liverpool match too.

The more Murinho speaks, the less I like him. Initially I thought he was a breath of fresh air, but over time, I have developed a lower opinion of him than I have of Alex Ferguson!

If you employ "gamesmanship" yourself, then don't moan when others do it to you - especially when they do it better!