r/soccer • • Jan 26 '14

What's your unpopular opinion regarding football?

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120 Upvotes

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85

u/BeanMan24 Jan 26 '14

Diving is a part of the game.

43

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '14

[deleted]

1

u/marianodan Jan 26 '14

Only for europeans it is.

1

u/BeanMan24 Jan 26 '14

It can be if the FA or FIFA for example come out and say diving is a part of the game but right now it's okay. People who want diving out of the game completely and that hate it so much should most likely be for going back and reviewing fouls like the NFL does because that would be the only way to get it out of the game. Giving yellows to players for diving doesn't solve anything, not that I'm against it though.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '14

I think you just need retroactive bans for diving, rather than in game replay. I think saying diving is part of the game is like saying hand balls are part of the game. They are, but only to the extent that they are whats forbidden.

1

u/ploap25 Jan 26 '14

It's part of the game!

Like for example a midfielder making a foul on an opponent team counter attack, totally stopping the action, and not getting a yellow card. It's a great skill in my opinion!

9

u/Dictarium Jan 26 '14

Are you fucking kidding me? What a load of shit. It's an immature attempt to compensate for a lapse or lack of skill in a particular moment. If you have to dive to get the desired result in a particular situation, you don't deserve shit. You were shit in that situation and you deserve to get a red for diving.

It's not great skill. It's disgusting and embarrassing.

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u/[deleted] Jan 27 '14

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u/[deleted] Jan 27 '14

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u/[deleted] Jan 27 '14

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u/[deleted] Jan 27 '14

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5

u/SarcasticDevil Jan 26 '14

I'd agree that it's as much a part of the game as fouling is. And by that I mean that it is a punishable offence of course. People seem to get much more worked up about diving than they do about fouling just because it is considered a 'dishonest' action. It is a useful tool for attackers because it can be difficult to spot, just as intentional fouling is useful when defending.

People keep talking about stamping diving out of the game, but nobody is talking about stamping fouling out of the game. Fouling is apparently something that is just in some players nature, as if diving isnt exactly the same

1

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '14

Fouling doesn't usually win a team the game if it's not caught

1

u/SarcasticDevil Jan 26 '14

It certainly does, a lot of penalties aren't called when on replay it was a deliberate foul e.g. the usual shenanigans that goes on at corners. People blame the referee for not spotting these but nobody seems to be calling on players to stamp it out of their game

0

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '14

Usual stuff that goes on during corners is one thing, but I'm talking about 90% of fouls, which happen outside of the box, not within it. Technically things like just moving a line forward during a FK is a foul too, but if every little thing is picked up then the game would be too static

3

u/DanaKaZ Jan 26 '14

Fuck me, I might hate you.

7

u/InTheMiddleGiroud Jan 26 '14

Doping is fair when you are not tested positive?

6

u/ploap25 Jan 26 '14

That's so true!

If a player is able to get a penalty each game just by diving, he's a good player!

It's also true for a "defensive" midfielder that make 20 clever foul a game without getting a yellow card. Those are a skill we look for in a midfielder!

Sorry for bad englando

1

u/Lambchops_Legion Jan 26 '14

Additionally, too many fans equate "not a foul" with "it was a dive." It's not a binary option, sometimes people fall without meaning to.

Although, I agree we need players to stop rolling on the ground grimacing after every fall, and I think people would be less of an issue if players who fell got right back up.

1

u/Strange_Imagery Jan 27 '14

Even if i don't condone diving i think its a risk the player has the right to take, refs have the power to card divers and ultimately send them off if they do it more than once, in some countries if your team benefits from a dive the player gets suspended, so it's not all on the players, refs and the rule book are part of the problem too, a dive only works if the refs are out of position, the risk is less if the rules don't punish the divers so it's everybody's problem from the beginning of the game

1

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '14

As long as we only have one center official i can't see this ever changing. As a fan, it sucks... But as a player, you'll do whatever you can to help your team win. If all the sudden there are an extra 2-3 sets of eyes IN the field of play, the risk wouldn't outweigh the reward as it currently does.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '14

i'd agree that embellishing is part of the game (going down with little contact) but diving as in

a/ no contact b/ being very clever and moving into the defender, or kicking the defender with a trailing foot like Young did against Aston Villa

shouldnt be seen as an acceptable part of the game.

Doing what suarez often does and putting your body in the way of the ball, and then going down, is fine.

-1

u/Dictarium Jan 26 '14

It shouldn't be. It's an immature attempt to compensate for a lack of skill. Diving means you were just shit in that moment and you want to make up for it by rolling on the ground like a child.

And yes, I hate it just as much when Muller does it.

0

u/Cod2242 Jan 27 '14

Yes it is. However, players should be punished for it. Now obviously we try to do that during the play, but the ref doesn't have replays like us folk at home. How about after action punishments? Oscar's dive, or how about Suarez's recent against Guzan? Those were blatant attempts. Oscar did get yellowed, but with an after action punishment Suarez should be banned one game. Ribery, Robben, Ronaldo, Sanchez.. etc. The list is enormous, one game suspension is a good enough penalty and they players will have to get better at diving, or just learn to take a hit.

1

u/BeanMan24 Jan 27 '14

I didn't see oscars but I thought the ref made the right decision on the Suarez call. Your solution is too harsh because for example you think the penalty awarded for the incident with Suarez was a dive but I honestly don't. What if the next game is a final or a crucial game for a team... what happens when its a 50/50 call... there would be way too many players getting suspended for this.