One thing I cant stand about Football ( Soccer )...

is the amount of acting in the sport. Its more like watching a daytime drama instead of a sporting event. Everytime a player gets touched, they fall down to the ground and hold their leg while " squirming " in pain. Imagine if hockey was like this. It would be a two on two, with the other 6 players from both teams " playing dead " and writhing in " pain " alongside the boards. Whats will all the acting is this sport? Its becoming really annoying to watch.

And the coaches dont do anything throughout the course of the game. Yes they make the subs, formulate gameplans, etc., but all of the time the TV shows them during the game, they are whining and moaning over a bad call or something.

I still just cant get over the acting in this sport. I like watching Football, but it gets annoying quickly on how just about every player is auditioning for the latest soap on the field.

is the amount of acting in the sport. Its more like watching a daytime drama instead of a sporting event. Everytime a player gets touched, they fall down to the ground and hold their leg while " squirming " in pain. Imagine if hockey was like this. It would be a two on two, with the other 6 players from both teams " playing dead " and writhing in " pain " alongside the boards. Whats will all the acting is this sport? Its becoming really annoying to watch.

And the coaches dont do anything throughout the course of the game. Yes they make the subs, formulate gameplans, etc., but all of the time the TV shows them during the game, they are whining and moaning over a bad call or something.

I still just cant get over the acting in this sport. I like watching Football, but it gets annoying quickly on how just about every player is auditioning for the latest soap on the field.

No one likes it, it's just hard to eliminate. Perhaps you should put hockey gear on all the players or something.

Every team does it, other than Canada (as far as I've seen). I've come to accept most of it, exept when the game is full of it. I think it is the reason most North Americans don't like the sport... and I think it's sad that players have no integrity once they get payed the millions... But it'll always be part of the sport and I just wish the referees could catch on to it more often.

For all the whining I hear about diving in hockey, there's so much less compared to soccer or basketball

They really need to bring in post-match adjudication. Camera evidence catches those players who go down without any contact at all. Players would soon change their attitude if they get suspended for every piece of acting.

Hockey is just a different mentality that's all. Like other physical sports such as rugby, if you show physical weakness, the other team gets a boost or one up on you. In soccer you get a free kick for your team.

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Its got so bad that I don't even care if England win the WC or not.

When I played, if anyone acted they would get a right good kicking and their own teammates would laugh at their actions.

There are simple ways to deal with it, allow physios on during play like in rugby.

If a player needs treatment, he has to be substituted. There was one guy rolling around with a bad thumb, he was a yard from the touchline too, its embarrassing.

You have to make it not worthwhile to act and my two answers achieve that.

An annoying trend that's far more annoying than diving/embellishment to me is the constant appeals for offside that defenders/goalies make after the opposition get/score a chance. Why the **** do they think they can change what's being called (unless they're Arsenal and the ref is Mark Halsey)? It pisses me off every time.

I'm watching the Italy-USA game. It's really my first time sitting down and watching soccer. You keep hearing about this Itallian scandel and with how they can act I wouldn't be surprised if they were throwing games. From what I've seen USA hasn't dove, not once! The itallians on the other hand, fall every time a player lays a finger on them. The worst part is is that diving isn't a penalty. I say if a ref suspects it, yellow card.

I don't understand soccer medicine. When a guy is done rolling around like he's been shot, the medics either pour water on the "wound" or spary it with some aerosol product. The guy then gets up and runs off. How is the water or the sprayed vagisil supposed to help anything?

My proposed rule: If you're carted off on a stretcher, you have to wait 10 minutes before asking to return.
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An annoying trend that's far more annoying than diving/embellishment to me is the constant appeals for offside that defenders/goalies make after the opposition get/score a chance. Why the **** do they think they can change what's being called (unless they're Arsenal and the ref is Mark Halsey)? It pisses me off every time.
That annoys the hell out of me as well. When I was a referee, defenders got a warning and if they continued to stand there with their hand up, they got a yellow. All about the spirit of the game.

I don't understand soccer medicine. When a guy is done rolling around like he's been shot, the medics either pour water on the "wound" or spary it with some aerosol product. The guy then gets up and runs off. How is the water or the sprayed vagisil supposed to help anything?

My proposed rule: If you're carted off on a stretcher, you have to wait 10 minutes before asking to return.

My preferred rule: Create a pink card and pull it out after obvious dives. The offending player then has to carry a purse around the rest of the game.

I agree whole heartedly. That nonesense with Cannavaro was just insufferable. The guy goes down after no one touches him. He then rolls around on the ground for 5 minutes and then gets taken off on the stretcher. 30 seconds later he's ready to jump back into play. Disgraceful.

If you leave the pitch then you need to be subbed, period. If you role around on the ground for a couple of minutes and then get up like nothing happened it should be a yellow.

This is a serious problem, but it wouldn't be that hard to offciate out. Players dive to draw cards. Start giving them cards for diving and they will stop doing it. And it's not like it was that hard to see who was diving and who wasn't this afternoon.

The moment I saw the title of this thread I knew what it's going to be about...

I don't mind it. It's an extra show on the field. I hate the player who dives against my team, but when my player dives and gets a free kick, I love it! You just get used to it!

And I love seeing Italians dive; they do it so... well... Italian!

As for the players appealing for the offside after the goal; it's just a normal reaction after you give up a goal. In that second you look for the excuses... When it's a tricky situation that's the first thing you do, you look towards the line referee hoping to see the flag up. And if the flag isn't up they don't protest any more because obviously it wasn't a goal.

The moment I saw the title of this thread I knew what it's going to be about...

I don't mind it. It's an extra show on the field. I hate the player who dives against my team, but when my player dives and gets a free kick, I love it! You just get used to it!

And I love seeing Italians dive; they do it so... well... Italian!

As for the players appealing for the offside after the goal; it's just a normal reaction after you give up a goal. In that second you look for the excuses... When it's a tricky situation that's the first thing you do, you look towards the line referee hoping to see the flag up. And if the flag isn't up they don't protest any more because obviously it wasn't a goal.

What :eek: please tell me you are joking. Its nauseating to watch it happen. You are right the Italians are good at diving, bribing ...etc. What an honor it must be to cheer for them.

I don't mind it. It's an extra show on the field. I hate the player who dives against my team, but when my player dives and gets a free kick, I love it! You just get used to it!


That's funny, I ESPECIALLY hate flopping/diving when it's done by a player on my favorite teams. It's a sign of weakness and unsportsmanlike, to boot. I will not get used to it, and I especially don't want to see the USMNT start diving even if they do so to win the World Cup. I want to see my favorite teams win PROPERLY.

What :eek: please tell me you are joking. Its nauseating to watch it happen. You are right the Italians are good at diving, bribing ...etc. What an honor it must be to cheer for them.

it is punk.

After watching a few games of the tournament, I'm pretty sure certain NHL'ers are watching the games with pen and paper in hand.

it is punk.

I'm a punk :biglaugh: Maybe so, after that game I was definately a raging loon at the very least

Actually, I'd prefer them wearing diving equipment. :)
http://divinglocker.tripod.com/subdiver.gif

Every team does it, other than Canada (as far as I've seen).

Its probably the reason we can't beat anybody.

And I love seeing Italians dive; they do it so... well... Italian!



When an Italian dive gives a player on your team a yellow or a red or maybe gives the Italians a PK, I'd love to hear you say you liked it again. It's easy to say that when your team hasn't played a team that dives like the Italians or the Portuguese.

It used to be the case that we didn't do it, sadly i can't claim that any more.

It is a dark part of the game. I absolutely hate the diving and play-acting in football and would be the second thing i would eliminate if i had the choice (first one being John Motson). As is often the case in football's shady behaviour, the Italians are leading the way in it.

The poor thing is that it is almost impossible to eradicate. 90% of the dives nowadays are so good that on first look, (all the ref has you've got to remember) it does look like a foul. The post-game analysis often picks up dives, so if you've got the power to give yellow cards out for blatant dives then so be it. Their biggest problem however would be where to draw the line. There are two types of dives; blatant ones and over-elaborative ones (ie, contact or none). Do you book someone for going down easily despite it actually having been a free-kick?

God knows, i'm glad it's not my decision.

When an Italian dive gives a player on your team a yellow or a red or maybe gives the Italians a PK, I'd love to hear you say you liked it again.

In my first post I said: I hate the player who dives against my team, but when my player dives and gets a free kick, I love it!

The poor thing is that it is almost impossible to eradicate. 90% of the dives nowadays are so good that on first look, (all the ref has you've got to remember) it does look like a foul. The post-game analysis often picks up dives, so if you've got the power to give yellow cards out for blatant dives then so be it. Their biggest problem however would be where to draw the line. There are two types of dives; blatant ones and over-elaborative ones (ie, contact or none). Do you book someone for going down easily despite it actually having been a free-kick?


Ill disagree with you there, I can spot 90% of dives even from the long angle German cameras. Call it like in hockey, if a player makes an attempt to con the ref, its a yellow. Even if he was fouled, takes 3 steps and then falls down, hes still cheating.

Make every dive a 1 match ban using video evidence or we could use video evidence to inform the ref of dives as it happens.

Ill disagree with you there, I can spot 90% of dives even from the long angle German cameras. Call it like in hockey, if a player makes an attempt to con the ref, its a yellow. Even if he was fouled, takes 3 steps and then falls down, hes still cheating.

Make every dive a 1 match ban using video evidence or we could use video evidence to inform the ref of dives as it happens.
That's what I want.

Another way would be if a manager of a high profile (Sir Alex for example) said if one of his players dives in the game, he'll not play next game. And make sure that everyone knows that he's out the team because he dived. Dock him a months wages while's he at it.

I'd go as far to request that the FA give the player a red of yellow card because he dived after the game. I think I'd be willing to sit the whole of my first team for the FA Cup final if tey dived.

That's what I want.

Another way would be if a manager of a high profile (Sir Alex for example) said if one of his players dives in the game, he'll not play next game. And make sure that everyone knows that he's out the team because he dived. Dock him a months wages while's he at it.

Sir Alex would have em fall like flown over penguins if that'd give him another premiership/FA/CL title - that's the problem ;)

In my first post I said:

Then why do you love Italian divers if you're from Croatia?

Trying to get the refs to call diving penalties is extremely difficult and problematic. They are best spotted and called off of video replays, not live on the pitch. A perfect example of a problem was Koller's injury against the USA. That, at first glance, looked like a dive by Koller, but was in fact a player picking up a fairly serious injury.

So to me, the solution is escalating suspensions of divers (same goes for the NHL). First offense is a 1 game suspension, increasing by a game for each incident after that. It won't take long to get rid of the diving and acting after that.

Diving sucks. It has really impacted my enjoyment of the WC this year. I think there needs to be more incentive to push through a foul...something like, if you are fouled and maintain control of the ball, the fouling player has to sit out for 5 minutes.

Offsides is "happy" too. I hate that there is any SMARTness to running up to force a player to be offsides. That junk is "happy" and reduces the ACTION of the sport. The offsides judge should be able to "wave off" the call if the defending team forced the offsides. That kinda junk is counter to what makes the game great.

Now i will say, i love the sport and have watched a lot of the games and will try to watch every quarterfinal game and on...it is amazing what these guys do!

I think that hockey is heading that direction...the diving. It comes with a sport that has so much contact as hockey and is determined to litigate illegal contact via tighter refereeing.

OOh yeah, one other annoyance with WC - the way fouls are not called in the box. That is like the old NHL where the last five mins and OT the ref swallowed the whistle. Well, one difference....the attackers are often called for piddly crap.

Fouls in the box shouldn't be so critical as a penalty shot. The ref should have some descretion to make some box fouls equate to a corner kick.

I knew the topic of this thread before I opened it too :biglaugh:

I hate it, and it is especially prevalent at the world cup, which is a shame considering that this is the showcase event for the sport.

It used to be you could just watch the english league to avoid seeing it, but now it's becoming more prevalent there as well (not going to name names here ;) ).

I knew the topic of this thread before I opened it too :biglaugh:

I hate it, and it is especially prevalent at the world cup, which is a shame considering that this is the showcase event for the sport.

It used to be you could just watch the english league to avoid seeing it, but now it's becoming more prevalent there as well (not going to name names here ;) ).
*cough* Robben *Cough* Drogba.

Drogba I don't blame because he's fouled so damn much and it's not called so much of the time.

Joe Cole is the worst. The most damn annoying part is that he surrounds the referee when he DOESN'T get the call.
Youll notice its not a coincidence that they all play for the same club.

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/206/7504810cz.jpg

Looks like a sniper got him. :biglaugh:

*cough* Robben *Cough* Drogba.

*cough* Gerrard *Cough* Rooney

*cough* Gerrard *Cough* Rooney
I havent seen Rooney dive, Gerrard does sometimes but nowhere near as those 2 who have more dives in a game than Gerrard does in months.

I wrote in the GDT during england's first world cup game that it was a disgrace the way lampard and cole were diving. Chelsea are by far the worst in the prem right now.

The thing that bugs me about drogba is not so much the diving as the constant moaning, and whining, and complaining. If he would ever shut his mouth he might be an even better player.

Then why do you love Italian divers if you're from Croatia?

OK, I don't mind (rather than like) Italian divers when they don't play against Croatia. Good enough? Any other game when Italy plays it's just amusing and fun to watch them dive. I apologize that I'm the only one who doesn't mind it.

I have to protect Drogba a little bit. Against Holland at one point he had a perfact chance to dive and get a penalty kick (probably not because of the poor refereeing) but he chose to stay up!

I havent seen Rooney dive, Gerrard does sometimes but nowhere near as those 2 who have more dives in a game than Gerrard does in months.

Manchester United - Arsenal 2-0. Utd break Arsenals run of 49 unbeaten games behind a blatant Rooney dive that led to a penalty and 1-0

Manchester United - Arsenal 2-0. Utd break Arsenals run of 49 unbeaten games behind a blatant Rooney dive that led to a penalty and 1-0
How long ago was that?

Im talking about players that dive half a dozen times every game.

sadly diving will always be part of the game.