Eduardo faces ban, what about Rooney?

Roar Rookie

By Ben W, 31 Aug 2009 Ben W is a Roar Rookie

Tagged:: Arsenal, eduardo, EPL, football, football diving, Manchester United, Michel Platini, Rooney, Wayne Rooney

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Arsenal striker Eduardo faces a two game ban for allegedly diving in the Gunners 3-1 win over Celtic midweek. On Saturday Arsenal travelled to Old Trafford to face Manchester United and once again there was a penalty and a dive, however this time Wayne Rooney was the culprit, but there has not even been a whisper about his dive that led to the penalty.

Now let me set the facts straight, I don’t disagree that it was a penalty, but what Rooney did is what strikers instinctively do every week.

He saw a chance and he made it work for him.

If you watch the footage of the penalty you can clearly see that Rooney is already falling down before any contact is made by Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia. Rooney was on a tight angle with no one to play the ball too, but he could see Almunia rushing towards him, so he toed the ball away, fell over and let the keeper run into him.

Again I stress this does not mean it wasn’t a penalty, but it is still a dive.

Compared to Eduardo’s dive the scenario is almost identical.

He too was on a tight angle with keeper rushing towards him, so he fell, but this time the keeper made no contact.

Astonishingly Eduardo now has to front up to a UEFA disciplinarily hearing accused of trying to deceive the referee. It is as if Eduardo was the first person to commit such a crime. Since the inception of the penalty area, diving in the box has been rife, what Wayne Rooney has shown is there is a way to do it and still remain the darling of the English media.

It is hard not to agree that the pursuit of Eduardo has become something of a “witch hunt.” His dubious penalty was not even crucial to the result.

The likes of Ronaldo and Steven Gerrard have been there and done it. UEFA boss and football legend Michel Platini agrees that he would have dived had he been in the same position as Eduardo, and yet Eduardo becomes the “scapegoat.”

Interestingly all this furore coincides with the build up England’s crucial World Cup qualifier against Eduardo’s Croatia. As expected the English media will avoid any reference to Wayne Rooney’s dive, but as Eduardo’s hearing approaches we will see further saturation on the indiscretions of the Croatian hitman. The conspiracy theorists may argue that it is all a ploy to try an unsettle him before the Wembley showdown.

Eduardo may well be banned, but will divers become accountable for their actions?

As Rooney showed diving is part of the game and sometimes diving a certain way can win big matches. This weekend alone in all the leagues around the world there will be numerous dives.

It is not a part of the game which we should celebrate, but it is a much more complex issue that won’t be solved by singling out one man.

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The Crowd Says (41) | Page 1 of Comments

Freud of Football said | August 31st 2009 @ 8:44am | Report comment

The two were not identical although you are right in saying to punish Eduardo is unfair, he’s not the first and FIFA haven’t officially changed the rules although they should have addressed the issue long ago.

I watched this game and I have to say my initial reaction was penalty but on the replay you can see, Rooney is already on the way down slightly before Almunia does touch him, so I would say it is a dive as he was clearly looking for the penalty but unlink Eduardo, there was contact.

Rooney is a smart player, it was wet, he was running flat out and if he rounded Almunia he had no shot on goal so he used the rules to his advantage – Eduardo tried to do the same but there was no contact which means he did con the referee and hence he deserves a ban, as would Rooney if Almunia hadn’t made contact.

However by the letter of the law, Rooney’s was a penalty and that’s the problem, referees are stuck with an outdated rule whereby any foul inside the box is either a penalty or nothing and this is what we should focus on.

Man Utd wouldn’t have won the game were it not for that penalty, they were stronger in the first half but Arsenal looked more dominant in the second so you’d have to say that this was the gamebreaker.

Anyway, do away with that rule, allow referees to award penalties both inside and outside the box when they think a genuine shot on goal has been missed due to a foul and also to award just free kicks inside the box for fouls that have not genuinely stopped an attacking move (eg. Rooney who had nowhere to go).

This would also stop the professional fouling – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBrFlDpQudY

That is the perfect example. Even Sir Alex was livid about it but it was within the rules and while I love Solksjaer and think it was a heroic, selfless act knowing the team were 1-1, late in a game near the end of a title race – it should have been a penalty and a red card, if it were, Solksjaer would have probably not made the tackle but as it stands, he’d rather take the red and concede a free kick outside the box with a wall in front of it than a penalty kick from 12 yards.

Furthermore, a change would cut down on diving if players know they aren’t guaranteed a penalty. Currently, players know the rules and they play to them, that’s why Cristiano Ronaldo flies into the box so often because with his pace he will inevitably get bought down and referees have no other option than penalty or to be inconsistent as they are now.

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Brian said | August 31st 2009 @ 9:33am | Report comment

Not to mention that Fletcher bought down Arshavin in the first half in much more convincing fashion than Rooney later and the ref waved play on.

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Freud of Football said | August 31st 2009 @ 9:43am | Report comment

“Eduardo may well be banned, but will divers become accountable for their actions? ”

Mike Dean correctly booked Eboue in the second half for an Eduardo like move where he pretended Patrice Evra had scithed him down only for replays to show he was a good foot away. Wenger just won’t criticise his own flock but perhaps this is a problem at the club?

The referees have a tough job and when they get it right it, should be commended.

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Art Sapphire said | August 31st 2009 @ 9:55am | Report comment

Even if Fletcher had broken Arshavin’s leg in the penalty area, the ref still would have waved play on.
Actullay, Stevie G won a penalty last season at Old Trafford. It was the first Man U had conceded at home in 2 seasons.

Eduardo has the misfortune of being foreign. The English never take their own to task as they are too virtuous to dive

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Dipstar said | August 31st 2009 @ 11:12am | Report comment

As an Arsenal fan I actually applaud Mike Dean for giving a yellow card to Eboue for his shameless dve. Cheating is cheating no matter which club you’re playing for and diving should be eliminated from the game by any means possible.

My issue with his running of the game comes from his lack of consistency. Arshavin gets brought down in the box – Nothing. Van Persie makes a tackle outside the box, taking man and ball – Yellow Card. Rooney brings himself down into Almunia’s arms in the box – Penalty. Either all three were fouls or none of them were. Clear bias towards Man U. Only at Old Trafford.

Maybe Manchester United vs Arsenal league fixtures should all be played at Wembley now?

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DiCanio said | August 31st 2009 @ 11:37am | Report comment

The disappointing thing is that I was watching that as a neutral and after that penalty it was a massive let down to my enjoyment of the game.

I was just sitting there thinking how biased the referee was rather then enjoying the match.

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Dipstar said | August 31st 2009 @ 12:04pm | Report comment

And while I applaud the referee for giving Eboue a yellow for ‘simulation’, is it just me being a paranoid Arsenal supporter or is it more than a coincidence that it happened to an Arsenal player against Man U at Old Trafford?

Would the same have happened if it was a Man U player? I think not. Imagine the ref dishing out a yellow for diving to Rooney or Nani at Old Trafford. It’s just not gonna happen. One penalty given against Man U in two years at Old Trafford says it all about the bias any visiting team can expect there.

As an Arsenal fan I was quite angry immediately after the game, but when I woke up on Sunday arvo and thought about it a bit more, I was really quite happy. We took a young team to Old Trafford without our captain and outplayed the reigning Premier League champions for 70 mins. One spell that contained a bad penalty call and a shocking own goal from one of our form players so far this season were what it took to beat us.

At least our Old Trafford excursion is over for the season, barring the inevitable visit in one of the Cups, and Mike Dean can’t referee all our games!

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- Freud of Football said | August 31st 2009 @ 7:23pm | Report comment
  
  It’s not you being paranoid, it’s you being one-eyed.
  
  I don’t care who you are or who you play for, if you take that kind of a tumble it warrants a yellow card, its not a coincidence, its the referee enforcing the rules to what was really an embarrassing moment for Arsenal.
  
  And this one penalty in two years nonsense. How often do teams go to Old Trafford and win? Or Stamford Bridge or Anfield? Not very often, Chelsea had that ridiculous 86 match unbeaten streak at home. What this tells me is more that the teams coming to these grounds don’t attack a lot, if you don’t attack you won’t get penalties, it’s quite simple. Referees may be more hesitant in awarding penalties to away teams due to the crowd but the lower teams come and park the bus, they don’t bring a 4-2-4.
  
  Best team for 70 minutes. Hardly
  
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  - DiCanio said | September 1st 2009 @ 10:47am | Report comment
    
    As a neutral I agree with dipstar
    
    Arsenal were all over Man U. It was pretty clear Fletchers buterching tactics were the main defensive assignment. I actually went away from that game dissapointed in the Premier league and really questioning the value in a ‘competition’ that is not run fairly.
    
    I think the Rooney Penalty was givable, but in the context of the Fletcher hack in the box it really does demonstrate the league bias.
    
    Not to mention the pathetic attempts of the highlight show to justify Dean’s incompetence
    
    Apparently the new definition of fairness is that since Arsharvin scored shortly after being brought down in the box that excuses Dean from having to make a decision against the home side.
    
    Wow. Who knew such things.
    
    So if my employer decides not to pay me my salary this week, but I happen to find an equal amout of cash on the sidewalk my employer is somehow excused. Good to know this is how ‘fairness’ works
    
    Who knew British people were this illogical / racist.
    
    This rubbish about ‘having a hard job to do’ for referee’s etc etc. Brain surgeons have a hard job. They save lives and get sued regularly.
    
    Premier League is fast becoming the bottom of the football pecking order in my home.
    
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    - Freud of Football said | September 1st 2009 @ 12:01pm | Report comment
      
      Yes Fletcher’s tackle was a penalty and he was overly aggressive throughout the game, as was Wes Brown who was duly booked but “butchering”, well maybe by your definition but I would think back to a Roy Keane tackle and for that I might use such a harsh term but Fletcher isn’t anywhere near as physical, still, it doesn’t make his consistent fouling any less of a yellow-card worthy offence.
      
      However I think you use the word racist a little too freely. The monkey chants at Carlton Cole, that was racist, not awarding a free kick/penalty in a match that probably had a dozen different races on the pitch, well unfair maybe but I don’t think race played any part in it.
      
      Although I must agree with your point that just because Arshavin scored makes it alright, we want consistency across the board, just because a mistake doesn’t impact the game doesn’t make it any less of a mistake and to argue that its ok, well no its not, if you give one you’ve got to give them all.
      
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      - DiCanio said | September 1st 2009 @ 12:26pm | Report comment
        
        Racism isn’t limited to denigrating a single specific race.
        
        Seeing one race as above all others is still racism.
        
        I think that English players, and by extension teams with lots of English players, get special treatment in the premier league.
        
        I also think that its creeping into the aleague.
        
        Yes monkey chants at Carlton Cole are racist. No not all racist examples have to be as obvious or concious.
        
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        DiCanio said | September 1st 2009 @ 12:33pm | Report comment
        
        And on the butchering term, I use it because I remember Eduardo’s Broken leg by Taylor. I figure theres no point in waiting for the next disaterous injury, lets use harsh terms for heavy tackles and push them out of the game.
  - Dipstar said | September 1st 2009 @ 11:42am | Report comment
    
    Freud,
    
    I totally agree with Mike Dean giving Eboue a yellow card for diving. Great refereeing and there should be more of it.
    
    I just wonder if he would have the courage of his convictions if the player in question was wearing a Man U shirt?
    
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    - Freud of Football said | September 1st 2009 @ 11:54am | Report comment
      
      I would say that any player that dives as blatantly as Eboue did we get booked, no matter which club he played for or which ground the game was at, the referee was perfectly positioned and he simply couldn’t allow that to go unpunished, regardless of who it was.
      
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FIsher Price said | August 31st 2009 @ 1:36pm | Report comment

I’ve long since given up expecting the xenophobic English football media (and FA) to treat Man United and Liverpool – and particularly the Angelic English players – by the same standards they do those dastardly foreigners iat clubs down south. Rooney could shoot a player (or, more likely, a ref) and get away with it. I can only think this phenomenon is tied to to a bitterness at the continued lack of the success of the national team and the overall relative lack of ability of English players; I also suspect this attitude contributes to the little Englander malaise.

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Stevo said | August 31st 2009 @ 2:17pm | Report comment

Great article. I think you covered the issue in a really professional and objective manner.

Was it a dive? Yes, without a doubt. Yes there was contact, but that was forged by Rooney falling ONTO Almunia, not by Almunia bringing Rooney down. Plus, the contact wasn’t anywhere near strong enough to bring Rooney down.

Here’s my take on it:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/245412-was-it-a-penalty-contact-or-no-contact-rooney-dived-so-no

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FIsher Price said | August 31st 2009 @ 2:18pm | Report comment

For the same reason does it go unchecked (unreported, even) that whenever Arsenal play at Old Trafford the home supporters regularly sing very audible songs about Wenger being a pedophile. Can you imagine if Ferguson got the same treatment at an away ground? There’d be a Royal Commission!

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