Attention footballers: Harden up!
Columnist By Melanie Dinjaski, 22 Jun 2010 Melanie Dinjaski is a Roar Expert
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Diving. I’m sick of it. Every time I watch the world game, and a player falls to the ground, I try and laugh about it. I try to get over it. But this World Cup might just be the last straw.
What gets on my nerves more than Harry Kewell’s red card, more than Ghanaian defender, John Paintsil somehow requiring a stretcher for a bleeding nose and more than the dwindling hopes of the Socceroos in this World Cup, is diving.
You bump them in the hip, they collapse and clutch their ankle. Accidentally touch their face, they bury their head in the ground. One touch, and they fall like dominoes.
We all know that diving (or being an over-exaggerating drama queen) is fundamentally a massive part of football. It’s a tactic, albeit a dirty one, and it works. It can give you field position, allow players to catch their breath, it offers the opportunity to execute a set piece and as we’ve all seen in this World Cup, it often results in goals.
Arguably, diving can also make the other team look like aggressive ankle breakers, which can either put you on or offside with the referee and this in turn can potentially result in more penalties throughout the match.
The Italians are by far the worst perpetrators of ‘the dive’. No-one can argue with this. Sure it’s used by other nations, but none as prolifically as the Italian football team.
De Rossi, that is, Daniele de Rossi, displayed his fine form in Italy’s match against Paraguay in South Africa a few weeks back. If you haven’t seen his dive, I encourage you to watch it.
His impressive performance was certainly a site to behold – a complete tumble, followed by a hand to the face while clutching for his ‘injured’ ankle, which if it was really injured he would not be trying to grab while on his belly, with his head in the grass. Full points for the dramatic face, but a delayed execution meant that he needlessly spent a good 20 seconds on the ground, carrying on to no avail, when he could have been on his feet playing for his country. He wasn’t even embarrassed. He waited on the ground until he was courteously helped up by a Paraguayan player!
If you need any more evidence to prove the Italian breed of divers, I suggest the Internet as a prime source of quality examples. And don’t get me started on the heartbreaking, infuriating, yet impeccable dive by Grosso in the 2006 World Cup. That dive took them all the way to the final, and World Cup glory.
Yes, diving is a part of the game and there’s no doubt it brings rewards. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Australia is not primarily a soccer nation. We all get behind the Socceroos but we are also fans of AFL, Union, and League. These are sports played tough. They play with blood dripping down their face. They play with broken bones for goodness sake!
Maybe like all of us the Socceroos have incorporated that attitude to soccer. A never say die, tough, and courageous approach they, like me, have grown up with. Perhaps that’s why the Socceroos have been branded a ‘rough team’ that tackle hard and bring red cards upon themselves with two footed tackles.
But frankly I’d rather see Australia stay true to their ‘hard’ brand of football than to ever become another de Rossi.
Because that’d just be un-Australian.
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- 2010 World Cup, Daniele de Rossi, diving in football, football, World Cup
June 22nd 2010 @ 2:18am
Roger Rational said | June 22nd 2010 @ 2:18am | Report comment
Too right. FIFA need to understand that they won’t crack the English-speaking countries (UK excepted) until they eradicate diving. There’s a big juicy market in the US but it will remain off limits until they clean up this nonsense.
June 22nd 2010 @ 7:07am
MVDave said | June 22nd 2010 @ 7:07am | Report comment
The Americans are slowly getting on board with 17 million average watching the US v England game…better than games 1-5 of the NBA final, double the audience for the Stanley Cup final game and more than double the audience for the US Open? just completed. ESPN report viewing figures up 60% on 2006.
People who highlight the diving and ignore the skills of the game will never become fans anyway…you can look at the glass as being half full or half empty. As a football fan l can see there are times that things happen on the park which shouldn’t but that doesn’t blind me to the overall beauty, skill and drama of the game. Everygame has its ugly components…however as the biggest, best and most widely played and reported game on the planet football gets over analysed to the nth degree.
June 22nd 2010 @ 9:14am
mahony said | June 22nd 2010 @ 9:14am | Report comment
MVDave – that sort of ‘fact’ talk won’t get you far around here. You need to trade in worn out ideologies and sterio-types – take this article for example.
Last straw you say Melanie? C’ya! – and take your ‘spit bucket’ with you….. go play with the tough kids.
June 22nd 2010 @ 9:26am
Melanie Dinjaski said | June 22nd 2010 @ 9:26am | Report comment
Yeah I suppose there’s a threshold for diving that has been breached, for me at least, in this World Cup.
Of course I’ll still watch my football. But as someone has said here, diving can be perceived as unsportsmanlike. And that just leaves an ill feeling in my stomach, especially in light of the Socceroos plight this World Cup.
And mahony – I’m a lady, not a camel. I don’t have a spit bucket.
June 22nd 2010 @ 11:31am
BennO said | June 22nd 2010 @ 11:31am | Report comment
“football gets over analysed to the nth degree.”
Come on mate, it’s not the nth degree when it’s pretty easy to observe the kind of lame antics you see on display. What I can’t understand is how players and lovers of the game aren’t disgusted by such poor sportsmanship.
June 22nd 2010 @ 7:22am
punter said | June 22nd 2010 @ 7:22am | Report comment
While I agree with yours & the author sentiments on diving (technology & suspension comes to mind), I’m not sure about your comment on English speaking countries.
As MVDave has pointed out the US are getting right into this WC, ask the Kiwis what they thought of their draw the other night. Coming home on the bus from the Wallabies v England match, most of the talk from the people (strangers) on the bus was about the upcoming Socceroos – Ghana match.
So that leaves Canada.
But about diving, yes this is the worst blight on this great game.
June 22nd 2010 @ 7:43am
Rabbitz said | June 22nd 2010 @ 7:43am | Report comment
At the risk of bring down the wrath of the true believers on myself, but I would suggest that the fact that the USA Team (do they have a nickname?) are have a good run at the moment, so support is high. A bit like the Socceroos prior to this tournament.
The real test will be to see if the “fair weather” supporters, such as myself, stay on the band-wagon during the tough times. Ask the ARU about fickle supporters during the tough times.
To bring it back on topic, as a sometimes follower, the blight of diving really does put me off the game. Especially the vaudvillian way the dives are taken – surely the ref’s aren’t that stoopid?
June 22nd 2010 @ 9:16am
Derby County FC said | June 22nd 2010 @ 9:16am | Report comment
Punter
Yeah but getting into a world cup and following football year in and year out are two totally different things.
June 22nd 2010 @ 9:25am
Aka said | June 22nd 2010 @ 9:25am | Report comment
considering football has professional leagues in the USA and here in OZ i’d say they had cracked it.
Golf isn’t particularly physical yet it’s cracked english speaking countries. How did that happen?
June 22nd 2010 @ 1:00pm
Ken said | June 22nd 2010 @ 1:00pm | Report comment
Golf? I’ve never seen pretend to be shot while playing Golf….
June 22nd 2010 @ 7:48am
mds1970 said | June 22nd 2010 @ 7:48am | Report comment
Diving and faking injuries have assumed such proportions as to menace the best interests of the game, making theatrical mime the main consideration. This is causing intensely bitter feeling, along with no risk whatsoever of genuine injury. In our opinion it is unsportsmanlike. Unless stopped at once it is likely to upset the friendly relations that exist between Australians and the world game.
June 22nd 2010 @ 8:00am
punter said | June 22nd 2010 @ 8:00am | Report comment
Haha, I hope that was tongue in cheek.
June 22nd 2010 @ 7:56am
Dingobob said | June 22nd 2010 @ 7:56am | Report comment
I think for too long this skill has been ignored and reviled. It is about time football accepted it as part of the game. Perhaps an award could be designed so that it can be promoted to the kiddies and ecourage them to hone this skill for future world cups. Though I believe the Italians have perfected the art Australia could set up an academy and perhaps hire an Italian to help devlope the skills to a higher level. A nice highlights reel put together by SBS would be nice after each game they could do away with showing the goals that only get in the way of the real football and concentrate on the stuff that matters.
June 22nd 2010 @ 9:21am
Art Sapphire said | June 22nd 2010 @ 9:21am | Report comment
Dingobob – I have the video that you need.
Footage from the Italian Academy of Diving. De Rossi was Dux of the Class this year.
Enjoy
June 22nd 2010 @ 9:33am
ItsCalledFootball said | June 22nd 2010 @ 9:33am | Report comment
What about the French cheating?
June 22nd 2010 @ 10:23am
JF said | June 22nd 2010 @ 10:23am | Report comment
Any excuse to post one of these beauties.
June 22nd 2010 @ 9:12am
Savvas Tzionis said | June 22nd 2010 @ 9:12am | Report comment
Another fair weather band wagon supporter.
June 22nd 2010 @ 9:25am
Jeb said | June 22nd 2010 @ 9:25am | Report comment
Totally agree. I love football but the diving, simulation etc is beyond a joke. Combined with the dodgy refs… but that’s another story.
On World cup fever show (highly recommend to anyone who doesn’t watch) last night they gave the rivaldo award. that ivory coast player who ran into kaka and dropped to the ground theatrically clutching his face won it. Anyway kaka will miss a match no ifs or buts. that’s fair
June 22nd 2010 @ 9:28am
Fauntleroy said | June 22nd 2010 @ 9:28am | Report comment
First post. Genuine question. Do posters on this forum genuinely believe that Italy are the worst perpetrators of this blight on football? Not saying for a minute they aren’t doing it, but can we possibly be objective about this anymore?
Having lived in Europe for two years, whilst most Italian footballers are considered dramatic (in many senses), the vitriole with regard to simulation is no where near what it is here. I note yesterday there was a big piece on the De Rossi penalty (I believe, like Grosso, he accentuated what was in reality still a foul and a penalty offence, but yes, defintely accentuated) written by a New Zealender which got massive clicks on The Age website. Interestingly, it was a straight syndication of an article written for a NZ site (stuff.co.nz). The article got far more coverage and readership in Australia than it did in NZ!!? That seemed a little strange to me.
I cast my mind back to Italia ’90, where Germany won the World Cup final on the biggest swan dive of all (Kilinsmann). Why hasn’t this stuck? Why isn’t it considered part of Germany’s football character here in Australia, given the gravity of the act and that the reward for their dive was the ultimate prize? Is it simply because it happened against Argentina, and not us? I recall Brazil’s antics throughout the 1980s, Argentina in the 1990s in particular, Portugal in recent years…I could go on and on.
My point is, yesterday we witnessed what I believe to be one of the saddest days in modern football. Brazil v Ivory coast – what was meant to be a game for the purists, was a disgraceful display of cheating and cynicism by both sides. Faking injury Rivaldo style by the Ivorians, a double hand-ball by the brazilians, cynical challenges all over the park. While the world focused on this, we focused on a contentious penalty decision in a game that didn’t even involve us.
Indeed if we look at history, the sweet irony of football is that Brazil is in my opinion the worst perpetrator by far – as they’ve beeing doing it for decades and continue to do so. But I suspect neither the Ivorians nor the Brazilians will carry the weight of being branded filthy chaeters by the Australian commentariat. Why is this so?
Should the fact they play beautiful football make them exempt from this? Are we blinded, or at least too heavily influenced, by misplaced cultural perceptions? Proper analysis please…not spiteful vitriole.
June 22nd 2010 @ 9:50am
Roger Rational said | June 22nd 2010 @ 9:50am | Report comment
You’re absolutely bang on the money there, Fauntleroy. The Brazilians, Portuguese and Spanish are just as bad as the Italians. Indeed, it often seems like the Spanish and Brazilians consider it an affront for anyone to try to tackle them. I suggested on another thread that perhaps the Brazilians get a pass because they are associated with samba football whereas Italian catenaccio isn’t quite so sexy.
June 22nd 2010 @ 9:52am
Melanie Dinjaski said | June 22nd 2010 @ 9:52am | Report comment
But spiteful vitriole is so much fun?
Don’t get me started on that Brazil goal. Beyond infuriating!
June 22nd 2010 @ 11:41am
apaway said | June 22nd 2010 @ 11:41am | Report comment
I agree with the sentiment of your article Melanie but I think the cowardly spectacle of diving is not just the domain of the Italians. Faking injuries to get free kicks and players dismissed is a sadly global phenomenon and FIFA need to pull their heads out of the sand and use video evidence to stamp out cheating.
June 22nd 2010 @ 10:05am
Jeb said | June 22nd 2010 @ 10:05am | Report comment
Re the Italians of course we remember it because it happened to us. But to be 100% honest I also believe they are the worst at it. I wonder if italian parks are littered with people rolling around, holding their faces and banging their fists into the ground.
And (I”m probably going to get smashed for saying this) but english speaking countries do (I believe) place more importance on fairness etc. Like you said in Europe there isn’t the vitriole with regard to simulation. To go further it isn’t really an issue in most parts of the world. It’s just the way the game’s played and they deal with it. We (like the americans) have a hard time copping something that isn’t fair. On the sports illustrated website today there’s a story urging readers to write to sepp blatter re the no goal against slovenia. But as if that’ll change things!
Hey what about that Brazilian hand-ball though. And then the ref joking about it with Fabiano afterwards. That was a disgrace. There’s been a few!
June 22nd 2010 @ 11:34am
Atawhai Drive said | June 22nd 2010 @ 11:34am | Report comment
The piece you refer to, Fauntleroy, was written by Tony Smith, a journalist on the staff of The (Christchurch) Press, a Fairfax newspaper. He is filing for all the Fairfax newspapers in NZ (The Press, Dominion Post, Nelson Mail etc) and his work also appears on Fairfax’s NZ umbrella website, Stuff. The Age is also a Fairfax newspaper and its editors feel free to pick up Tony Smith’s copy when it’s of interest to Australians . . . as the All Whites’ success undoubtedly is.
June 23rd 2010 @ 2:26pm
George said | June 23rd 2010 @ 2:26pm | Report comment
Agreed to most of what you said. The reason why Klinsmann ans co aren’t brought up is because it is not current. We must also remember Maradona hand of God. It has been happening for years but needs to be stamped out.
Disagree with Brazil, classic example was the first goal against Côte d’Ivoire Fabiano stepped over the outstretched foot of the defender. I am unsure if De Rossi and Co would have. I suggest they would have taken the dive and penalty option. Yes it was a handball, poor end to the game by players and officials. But the players know there are no post game ramifications.
I suggest Video review post match. Suspend players as well as fine players equivalent to their usual match fee (what their club pays them) for the games they’re suspended for.
June 22nd 2010 @ 9:45am
Roger Rational said | June 22nd 2010 @ 9:45am | Report comment
It’s fantasy to suggest that soccer is anywhere close to competing with NFL in the US. The Americans get mildly interested for a month every four years and then switch off again. 17m viewing figures in a nation of 307m is pretty lame. Most of the American stuff I’ve read has absolutely lacerated this tournament for being boring and rewarding cheating.
If FIFA are serious about helping football in the US, then they ought to introduce a plan to encourage traditional, English-style association football:
- Full-on shoulder barges
- Divers banned
- Red-blooded tackling encouraged
- 100 m.p.h. action, no namby pamby short passing nonsense
The Yanks might buy that.
June 22nd 2010 @ 9:54am
Melanie Dinjaski said | June 22nd 2010 @ 9:54am | Report comment
They’ll call it Xtreme Soccer, and preview the sport on US show, Wipeout.
Genius.
June 22nd 2010 @ 5:31pm
MVDave said | June 22nd 2010 @ 5:31pm | Report comment
Roger
“It’s fantasy to suggest that soccer is anywhere close to competing with NFL in the US.”
Who suggested it was?
The Americans get mildly interested for a month every four years and then switch off again. 17m viewing figures in a nation of 307m is pretty lame.”
Absolute crap…17million for a sports telecast is very good, particularly as it was only a group game and not knockout or a final. To beat games 1-5 of NBA, the Stanley Cup final and the US Open indicates that it was a very good figure particularly considering US v England was played in the morning US and the others at prime time.
Most of the American stuff I’ve read has absolutely lacerated this tournament for being boring and rewarding cheating.” Depends on the sites you read. The NYTimes and the like have excellent coverage. BTW Just tell me which sports dont have their controversy over alleged player cheating, boring games etc.
Football in the US is booming at the moment and if it continues to grow as it has been the US National team will become dominant within 50 years (not that l’ll be around to see it)…certainly top 2-3 in the world.
June 22nd 2010 @ 9:59am
JF said | June 22nd 2010 @ 9:59am | Report comment
Ahh yes, that ugly part of the game that ‘true’ football supporters never speak of. For me it is the attitude of the soccer community / supporters toward diving that turns me off the game more than the diving itself. This line of ‘its part of the game’ I cannot understand. This is an ugly flaw in your game, the first step to rehabilitation is to admit there is a problem. But no, doing that would be admitting that the beautiful game is not perfect, better just to accept it as ‘part of the game’. I noticed in the Springboks v Italy game on the weekend in South Africa – Habana taking a dive to milk an obstruction penalty, when the vision was replayed the Sth African commentators immediately berated him, “Looks like he has been watching too much of the Football World Cup” “Let’s keep it out of our game, there is no place for it in Rugby”
Nice article Melanie.
June 22nd 2010 @ 10:21am
Towser said | June 22nd 2010 @ 10:21am | Report comment
Heres a reply I put up on Spiro Zavos’s article ” The All Whites success Involves a touch of Kiwi”.
“Good article Spiro. Gives insight & adds to my knowledge of NZ football.
Whilst my background rejects diving culturally(Ie its cheating to me & that wont change) there is another angle to this subject as indicated by this article & its replies regarding New Zealand & Italy.
One which for me indicates why football has become a worldwide sport.
That is for different countries to be able to express their culture under a uniform set of rules on the park.
Whilst other sports may have some flexibility in this ,many are still tied to the cultural roots of where they were created.
Football seems to have overidden this.
I dont profess to have an answer why,but I do know that the way other countries play football & their on field antics is far removed from the football culture of my upbringing.”
So yes it is part of the Italians game.
June 22nd 2010 @ 6:38pm
Melanie Dinjaski said | June 22nd 2010 @ 6:38pm | Report comment
Thanks JF! I’m glad not everyone thinks its just something we should get over, and get used to.
See what I don’t understand is how they are not even embarrassed. I would think grown elite sporting men would be too ashamed to even think about diving. That they’d at least have some sense of pride to be strong on the field, to work hard for your team, and to never show the opposition that you are weak. I just don’t get it.
June 22nd 2010 @ 7:55pm
Michael C said | June 22nd 2010 @ 7:55pm | Report comment
agreed.
No shame.
Not sure what it says about the individuals or the ‘culture’ they either learned ‘sporting behaviour’ in or the ‘culture’ they have refined their professional attitudes in,………I wonder though, should it be regarded as nothing more or less than the world famous Australian sledging on the cricket field??
June 22nd 2010 @ 8:55pm
dasilva said | June 22nd 2010 @ 8:55pm | Report comment
Let’s look at the flip side
Someone like Mark Viduka who is probably one of the most honest players in the world who will always stay on the feet as long as possible even if someone is rugby tackling him. However, no matter how noble you and I think that attitude is. That type of attitude probably cost the dukes many penalties and many free kicks and probably cost the team a goal and even his manager in England (not exactly the most tolerant cultures in term of diving) criticised him for staying on his feet. Everyone remembered the Croatia vs Australia match where Simunic was wrestling him to the ground. If Mark Viduka dropped on the floor when Simunic was bear hugging him, he may as well won Australia a penalty and perhaps got him send off far earlier. The fact of the matter is, referees DO NOT blow for fouls unless you go to ground. It’s because of this, players who stay on their feet are at a massive disadvantage.
As long as we have defenders who are cynically fouling teams and breaking up attacks then diving and injury feigns will always exist as a counter to it.
I see tactical fouling and diving as two sides of the same coin. You can’t stop one without the other.
The whole philosophy behind diving and injury feigns is that if someone fouls you and breaks the rules. It’s your job to make sure the referee knows about it to unsure the foul doesn’t go unpunish. If that means rolling around the flood holding on to your face, so be it
What about diving when there is no contact?
Well it’s not that simple. Really a good dive makes it look like theres a foul.
One of the theories about dive is that if you see a defender doing a defensive mistake and make a bad tackle or stick his foot out to a tricky dribbler etc. If you ran into the tackle you are actually risking injuries to yourself even if you are winning yourself a legitimate penalty or freekick. However if you decide to dive over that tackle making it look like the tackle got you, then you win the penalty without risking any injuries (that’s the official line from soccer training schools that actually teach people how to dive. They claim that it will prevent injuries). Majority of dives with no contact are actually from defensive mistakes that would have been fouls if the tackle did contact. They are essentially turning attempted “foul play” from the defender against them.
Now I personally dislike diving but the only way to solve diving is to prevent foul play from the defenders from taking place. The defenders will have their unsporting measures to counter flair players and the flair players have their own unsporting measure to combat defenders.
June 23rd 2010 @ 10:27am
Rob Gremio said | June 23rd 2010 @ 10:27am | Report comment
Great post, Dasilva.
June 22nd 2010 @ 10:25am
sheek said | June 22nd 2010 @ 10:25am | Report comment
Bring back the biff……….
June 22nd 2010 @ 7:17pm
Erasmus said | June 22nd 2010 @ 7:17pm | Report comment
NO, thanks!
June 22nd 2010 @ 10:31am
Lazza said | June 22nd 2010 @ 10:31am | Report comment
Melanie,
Why don’t we just ‘harden up’ and stop complaining that the world is against us. All we seem to do is whinge that other nations don’t play fair, there’s a conspiracy against small nations or that simulation is the worst form of cheating in World Sport. Really?
A few facts that we should consider :
Harry Kewel prevented a certain goal with the use of the arm. Under the rules that’s a penalty and a red card.
The NZ player grabbed the Italians shirt in the penalty box. That’s a penalty. Refs don’t always spot them but if you take the risk don’t complain if you get caught.
If you go sliding in to a tackle and don’t get the ball then you leave yourself open to the mercy of the referee. The ref may have been too strict with both Lucas Neil and Tim Cahill but good players stay on their feet and don’t jump in to reckless tackles. If you do and then get sent off or give away a penalty you only have yourself to blame.
We just have to have a more ‘hard nosed’ approach to the game. This is the biggest and most competitive competition on the planet and teams will take any advantage they can.
June 22nd 2010 @ 11:13am
Dejan Kalinic said | June 22nd 2010 @ 11:13am | Report comment
“This is the biggest and most competitive competition on the planet and teams will take any advantage they can.”
Brilliant.
June 22nd 2010 @ 11:15am
Melanie Dinjaski said | June 22nd 2010 @ 11:15am | Report comment
Lazza,
I never said conspiracy. I never even alluded to it in this article.
I didn’t want to go into the Kewell send off, but you’ve forced me to address it. It’s a red card if it’s intentional.
Sending off offences – “Denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball”. So having your eyes closed and bringing your arm to your body and getting hit on the bicep 1.5 seconds after a kick is deliberate?
He stuck his chest out, with his arms by his side and his eyes closed. Not a red card. Penalty sure. But we might’ve won if he hadn’t been sent off.
June 22nd 2010 @ 12:23pm
Lazza said | June 22nd 2010 @ 12:23pm | Report comment
Under the laws of the game it is only deemed to be unintentional if the player taking a shot is less than three metres away. Then it’s ‘ball to hand’ not handball.
I agree with Craig Johnston – Harry tried to chest it away but the jabulani swerved at the last second and struck his arm. When you stick your chest out your arms naturally come up as well. It was just bad luck and the ref had no choice.
June 23rd 2010 @ 2:51pm
George said | June 23rd 2010 @ 2:51pm | Report comment
Unfortunately it’s either a red card and penalty or play resumes. As an offence has only occurred when the ball is handled deliberately as per Law 12.
The ref had only one look at the situation. Unfortunately he has to decide if it is deliberate there and then. I’m sure he couldn’t see if his eyes were closed. We could only assess if his chest was out and arms back on the side on replay. His arms went forward then back. But this is all seen in many slow motion replays from different angles.
I agree that (after reviewing all replays) he didn’t deliberately handle the ball and hence did not deserve a penalty or red card. But if I was the ref and saw what he did I’m not sure what decision I would have made.
But I don’t agree with instant video review, it would slow the game down too much. Post game review would be better. Then at least Harry would be able to play the next game.