The Sky Blues were incensed when striker Mark Bridge was handed a two-match ban during the week for his stoush with Melbourne Victory defender Roddy Vargas in a fiery season opener.
Sydney CEO Dirk Melton told The Daily Telegraph’s football writer Tom Smithies his club wanted to take a stand, announcing an official club policy of “no simulation.”
“This is an excellent opportunity for our club to draw a line in the sand and say we won’t dive,” Melton said.
“It is important for all in the game to acknowledge that Australians do not look favourably on anyone in sport who deliberately tries to milk a free kick or penalty.”
Technically speaking, Vargas didn’t actually dive but rather feigned injury and while the merits of Melton’s sentiment are up for debate, what shouldn’t be overlooked is the fact Bridge clearly strikes Vargas with an elbow to the throat.
And while Melton agreed Bridge’s reaction was inappropriate, Sydney FC have effectively created a smokescreen around the player by publicly proclaiming an anti-diving stance.
It’s an interesting tactic in that it raises as many questions as it does provide answers.
Will referees suddenly feel pressured to start awarding Nicky Carle free-kicks and penalties every time he tumbles under a challenge, simply because Sydney FC are self-proclaimed “anti-divers?”
Or will the Sydney players start self-policing tackles, standing over players with a snarl in a manner once perfected by none other than Kevin Muscat himself?
And what happens if one of the Sydney players is caught diving? Who decides it’s a dive and what punishment will be meted out?
The whole thing smacks of an attempt by Sydney FC to divert attention away from Bridge’s dismissal-worthy retaliation and place the focus elsewhere.
And with coach Vitezslav Lavicka under pressure following last season’s disappointing campaign, it makes sense to try and fuel a siege mentality around the club in a bid to inspire some results.
That said, there’s no doubt many fans are turned off by diving and as former Socceroos skipper Moore suggests, it’s an aspect of the game pilloried by fans of rival sports.
Bridge undoubtedly raised him arm towards Vargas but the Melbourne Victory defender deserves a cameo in ‘Home And Away’ for his dramatic interpretation of events thereafter.
Perhaps the most salient point to come from Bridge’s dismissal is the fact the judicial process doesn’t allow for players to personally state their case to the match review panel.
That means the referee’s interpretation essentially trumps that of any player dismissed, without so much as an opportunity for the player to explain his actions.
Whether there’s scope for the system to change this season remains to be seen, but Melton is right to suggest it’s not a particularly fair means of handing out suspensions.
As for drawing a line in the sand over diving, it seems more of a case of drawing attention away from the ill discipline of one of their own players than a genuine attempt to set a principle.
Diving and feigning injury is certainly a blight on the world game but it’s not an especially prevalent one in the A-League, so heaven help the first Sydney FC player to go down easily under a challenge because the weight of every fan of a rival A-League club could soon come crashing down upon them.
Axelv
Guest
Kisel went down, clutched his knee, did a semi roll in the 89th minute, immediately recovered after the free kick was given. Is the club going to fine him for theatrics? Or was it just talk and publicity as we all suspected? Very hypocritical indeed when trying to take the high ground.
anopinion
Guest
@ Fussball No. Nice try at screwing words around. I said I have a problem when people act like dills. Taking a shirt off and running to the crowd is not a behaviour that epitomises good sportmanship. Nor does diving. Nor does fighting. I also hate watching fights, I do not understand how you managed to tie my dislike of one thing to fighting in a completely different sport. Are you a magician? Also thank you for the party animal insult, you sound like the kind of guy who is great to engage in a discussion.
Steggz
Guest
The weird thing with Archie is that Beauchamp didn't go studs or anything, it was shin to shin connection.
Steggz
Guest
SPL has/had a similar rule in place
tosin
Guest
Aussies dont cheat!!!!!!!!! A fairytale.
The Bush
Roar Guru
"How do you feel about Rugby & League guys punching on during a game of sport? Does that make you feel proud to be a Strayian?" If they're punching on with the Poms it does...
The Bush
Roar Guru
"You must cringe at some of the NRL celebrations." Who doesn't some of them are just plain lame...
punter
Guest
Dan, I hope you enjoy your season at Sydney FC. Fuss, you are right as bad as BR are, there is only one MV & they are annoying.
Futbanous
Guest
Agree that is the other side of the coin & we also need to take a stand against reckless brutality as you put it rather than clean tough correct tackling. This is far more destructive in hampering the development of the sort of football that will pull in the punters than diving/simulation is. I saw it last week against the Roar by CCM. Once again you cant make a call against one without condeming the other.
Futbanous
Guest
In general the A-League is dive,poncy simulation free. Regardless, any diving/simulation is blatant cheating. Forget what other sports do, it his football were talking about. It has plain & simply developed as a result of football becoming a global game to the chagrin of Anglo/Celtic cultures. If you cant beat em join em. FIFA therefore knows it cant upset the majority, so continually turns a blind eye. In other words if your looking towards FIFA for action in this regard,expect Tony Abbott to marry Julia Gillard. So action against this form of cheating can only come from the governing body(& even they are limited by FIFA) or the coach or management of a club , therefore eradicating it from the club football culture as per SFC. It wont go away, we are part of the World game,but its not accepted here so we have to find our own way of eliminating it in Australia.
Michael
Guest
p.s. That's not saying an elbow to the throat doesn't hurt, or that Bridge was right. He wasn't.
Michael
Guest
OK. When?
FootyWiffaJ
Guest
Agree 100%. This is exactly the reply I was thinking of posting after reading this article. I can't stand it.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
.
Axelv
Guest
Kisel dived in the box to get a penalty in the final game of season 5, it won them the premiership. David Williams was fouled in the penalty box on the weekend by the Newcastle keeper, he got back up as soon as possible and nothing was given. Had he stayed down, 70% chance that a penalty would have been given. In the 2007 Asian Cup, the Aussie players would not go down, and they would not receive free kicks, even on blatant fouls. I'd say that reckless brutality and trying to inflict injury on opposition players or being plain reckless is a much more serious offense. Some of the Sydney FC tackles are plain dirty. The club is just pretending to take the high moral stance, when in reality they are anything but. If one of their key players dive, they won't punish him. It's the job of the referee and match review panel to punish diving both during and post game. Baird and Perez were good examples.
Dan
Guest
Yea I am looking forward to it, It shall be my first season following the a-league, I hear it is a great atmosphere, Iv been doing some research to get into it. I hear Brisbane has won something like 29 in a row so will be good to beat them.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
A bit of show boating by SFC. I can recall a few years back when Cristiano dived to earn a penalty, AU made a point of letting the public know that he had been admonished and told that that sort of thing was unacceptable in our sporting culture. In other words, there is already a good degree of self-regulation amongst the clubs, and it shows, our league does not really have too much to worry about on this front.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Excellent - should be a fantastic match SFC v BRIS tomorrow night. I can't believe I actually want SFC to win ... those Brissy fans are starting to get a bit too cocky and annoying, as we know, there's only room for one group of cocky and annoying supporters in the HAL!
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Fussball, And as punishment, Im going to make you watch Garrincha for six minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAwBeP5T-y8&feature=related
Dan
Guest
Sorry, dont get me wrong, I love watching sport, whether it be AFL, NRL, RU, Cricket or Soccer, I dont like cheating in any sport but understand it happens... The more blatant the worse it is... I like sport so much I have joined Sydney FC this season to get my fix until AFL/NRL starts.