Some thoughts on cheating

[spud]

Lately I have been browsing the BBC football website. Just now I saw the headline "UEFA overturns Eduardo diving ban". The article quotes both Eduardo and an Arsenal statement, both of which - predictably enough - express their satisfaction at the outcome and the removal of the implicit blemish on the player's reputation.

Let me point out that what I am about to say is not particularly aimed at Arsenal Football Club or Eduardo. The same comments could just as easily be directed towards Wayne Rooney and Manchester United, or any number of players (including some of our own) who regularly perform the same act of cheating during the course of a game. It just so happens that this appalling decision by the obviously spineless UEFA involves an Arsenal player.

There can be no doubt about the fact that Eduardo dived against Celtic. He did what so many players now do: stopped moving his legs so that he fell forward into the goalkeeper, therefore giving the appearance that he had been fouled. It is exactly the same thing that Rooney did for Manchester United against Arsenal; the only difference is that Almunia clattered into Rooney (thereby fulfilling the charade) whereas Boruc did not. Eduardo's dive was obvious, whereas contact with the goalkeeper renedered Rooney's less so.

After both incidents, it is sickening to hear the players concerned proclaim that they are 'fair' players. They did not, and have never, sought to gain an advantage by 'simulation'. Eduardo is quoted as saying "I just want to say that I am a fair player. To score goals you must take your opportunities and I'm not the type of player who needs to be dishonest to score goals." So black is white, and in spite of all of the evidence to the contrary, we must believe that he does not cheat. His club compounds the hypocrisy; this from its statement: "We fully support the drive for fair play in football and believe it is important that Uefa provides clear and comprehensive standards that will be consistently enforced going forward." So they're glad that UEFA is taking action against this type of offence, they just want to be excluded from it.

Such words - and indeed the act of cheating itself - are perhaps understandable given all that is at stake in matches played at he highest level. Not acceptable, but understandable. What is both unacceptable and inexplicable is the apparent basis for UEFA's decision to overturn its original ban. This again from the Arsenal statement: "We were able to show there was contact between the keeper and Eduardo and that the decision should be annulled,".

So there you have it: as long as there is 'contact' between two players, anything goes. As long as there is 'contact', it does not matter that one player is diving, for he will not be punished for his 'simulation'. All cheating is absolved if there is 'contact'. Not necessarily a foul, you understand, but 'contact'.

What a shameless abrogation of responsibility by one of the world's principal governing bodies. Consider the following extract from the laws of the game:

A direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any
of the following seven offences in a manner considered by the referee to be
careless, reckless or using excessive force:​

• kicks or attempts to kick an opponent
• trips or attempts to trip an opponent
• jumps at an opponent
• charges an opponent
• strikes or attempts to strike an opponent
• pushes an opponent​

• tackles an opponent

Now I may be missing something, but I can't see any reference to 'contact'. I can see 'intent'; I can see 'careless' and 'reckless'; I can see 'excessive force'. 'Contact' is conspicuous by its absence. It could of course be argued that Boruc (and subsequently Almunia) were 'careless', but it seems to me that Boruc in particular was extremely careful in his attempt to avoid contact with the somehow tumbling Eduardo.

So UEFA has (in what must be presumed to be an attempt to avoid any act that might - God forbid! - set a precedent that it has to follow) pandered to the false belief of most commentators that 'contact' constitutes a foul. Never mind what the laws of the game state, let's not rock the boat. Better to allow cheating that can be ignored than to take steps to show that it is unacceptable and to work at eradicating it.

This, my friends, is a sad day for the beautiful game. This watershed decision has shown all those who wish to cheat that they may do so with impunity. UEFA had a chance to improve the game and has blown it in spectacular fashion.


I fear that it is all downhill from here.

 

[sasa_moto]

Excellent article, but you missed point big time, when you talk about circumstances under which direct free kick is given, and there's no mention of "contact" when free kick is awarded. That's true, and it would be relevant if Eduardo claimed ever that it was penalty. He never did. Yes he was looking for some contact with the keeper, as 90 pct of forwards do under similar cicumstances, he found some, then he went down in overreacting fashion, no penalty should have been given, end of story. Referee got it wrong, as it happens sometime, and life goes on. So much words about really nothing.

 

[llamafarmer]

Quality post spud, absolutely spot on.

 

[PartyBoy]

UEFA are clowns. Personally I did not feel Eduardo should have been banned, not because he did not cheat (he did for sure) but because it happens all the time and to punish one individual with being consistent is a dangerous game. Now we are hearing the Arse**l nonsense about him being an honest player - BS!

 

[Dundalk_Spur]

What UEFA have basically said is that he did not cheat. They now have no comeback and hopefully the same will happen in their blue riband event the CL final and ruin it as a spectacle.

Maybe then they will have a rethink.

 

[worcestersauce]

Interesting case last night in the MK - Norwich game where the Norwich defender Martin put his foot out and kicked the ball away(albeit only slightly) but he kicked it away from the Mk man who was running away from goal however the MK player tripped over his leg and got the penalty.
The commentator decided he shouldn't have made the challenge and there was contact so it's a pen and that's the problem with making contact the deciding factor.

 

[tomo]

can't beleive UEFA have gone back on their decision. Maybe a two game ban was OTT and a 1 game ban would have got the message across but for UEFA to say the ban was a mistake clearly shows they have no backbone.
Wengers argument was baseless at the time and it was just unlucky for him that Eduardo was the first person to be made an example of. The fact he dived on TV in front of about 5 million people and then seemed to looked pleased with himself for the deception seemed to me to be worthy of a ban, Gooner or no Gooner. UEFA have now unbelievably justified Wengers complaint, crazy.

 

[onlyonekeano]

Here's something that I cannot understand:

If the referee had decided Eduardo had dived at the time, he would have been booked. This is the usual punishment for dives that the referee spots.

The referee did not see the dive, UEFA decide to punish him retrospectively, and the punishment becomes 2 matches.

How can that make any sense at all?

 

[ultimateloner]

I think all our players should start diving.

 

[Etrilad]

If it had been spotted during the game the player would indeed only have been booked but the resultant penalty and subsequent goal/result would not have been. Looked at retrospectively his dive completely changed the course of the game hence the more severe penalty (or not as the case may be - legends)

 

[mancman]

Good and thoughtful article. I thought when UEFA imposed a 2 match ban on EDUARDO i thought it would be recinded. If not Arsenal would have been completely justified in claiming that they were being picked on. Any retrospectives must apply to all games to be fair and god forbid a huge number of players should be banned for not just diving but in trying to gain advantage by all forms of cheating. But where do we start - CORNER KICKS are a good one . modern defenders don't even watch the ball just the man they are marking and they cheat by obstructing, holding, standing on feet, grabbing shirts etc.I am so sick of it - send some of these tossers off and award penalties. The thing that gets me if any of the stuff that goes on inside the box at corners happened anywhere else the referee would award free kicks and dish out cards. Strangely they don't have the bottle to do it at corners.

 

[spud]

Excellent article, but you missed point big time, when you talk about circumstances under which direct free kick is given, and there's no mention of "contact" when free kick is awarded. That's true, and it would be relevant if Eduardo claimed ever that it was penalty. He never did. Yes he was looking for some contact with the keeper, as 90 pct of forwards do under similar cicumstances, he found some, then he went down in overreacting fashion, no penalty should have been given, end of story. Referee got it wrong, as it happens sometime, and life goes on. So much words about really nothing.

Who has missed the point here?

First, Eduardo did not go down because there was contact; he went down to 'win' a penalty, and the minimal contact occurred because of his dive. Secondly, whether the player claimed verbally, or by his actions following his dive, that a penalty should be awarded is completely irrelevant to my point - which was that the act of diving is cheating, and UEFA has decided not to punish it, apparently choosing instead to misinterpret the laws of the game.

There is a bigger picture involved.

 

[kicked]

I still remember when Arshavin got awarded a penalty for The Arse when it wasn't one. He made a great fuss, rightly, saying it wasn't a penalty and was aplauded...yet, they still scored from the penalty? Surely fair play would've been a weak pass back to goalkeeper from the spot?
I think that what they should do is have a clean slate and set out an agenda and stick to it. There is that much money in the game that a panel can go through the moments of games and then dish out punishments. If a player gets fined for cheating and actually hasn't dived..then to be honest, all players will think more before so? It is obviously a problem but it is more of a problem because uefa don't clamp down on it!

 

[spurs_viola]

I agree this is a black day for European football, thanks to the lack of nerve/willingness to go through with it from UEFA and Michel Platini in the face of extreme pressure from one of the "big club"s politicians and lawyers.

So Arsenal may have "rightly" felt as if they were picked on while "everyone does it". What this actually means is that if a smaller club was punished this way, it would have been accepted much easier and the big club would have been praising UEFA for their excellent leadership of the game. As in fact happened the only time UEFA banned a player for cheating and winning a penalty previously - and conveniently it was just little Lithuania they punished.

Until one of the high profile, big clubs is punished for their player's cheating, no real progress would be made here - as nobody would pay real attention.

The more valid point/accusation levied at UEFA, which probably made them quite uncomfortable and which made Arsenal's pressure more telling was that in both of the occasions a player was banned for diving it happened against a Scottish team (Lithuania v Scotland in Euro 2008 qualifier and Arsenal v Celtic in CL Qf).
Now, No.2 in UEFA Executive Committee is one David Taylor, of Scotland, who is the General Secretary there. Coincidence? Some would say so - thousands wouldn't.

Has Michel Platini overruled David Taylor here, for fear of being accused of Scottish bias in decisions on such bans? Why have UEFA not acted so decisively on other occasions of similarly high-ish profile, which would have made them look far more objective and strong?

A stand must be made against this pathetic trend which has become far too prevalent and more often than not damages "lesser" teams in matches against "bigger" teams. And inevitably, one of the big clubs would have to suffer such punishment. UEFA should have stood firm here if they really wanted to set an example, so that other big clubs took them seriously.

Next will inevitably come reversal of Chelsea FC punishment after UEFA accepts, after "careful consideration of further evidence", that they cannot prove Chelsea's wrongdoing.

 

[UncleBuck]

I still cringe whenever I hear the word "simulation".

Cheating is cheating, diving is diving. I remember how I used to laugh at other European teams for their theatrics and acting like a bunch of pansies, unfortunately it's so prevelant in our own domestic league now that there is no way that the FA can punish an future incident in light of UEFA's pathetic decision.

UEFA had the opportunity to actually show that they have some backbone, unfortunately they have bottled it. They have now made it almost impossible to bring action against any player for diving for fear of upsetting the clubs.

UEFA are now a representative body, not a governing body.

What happened to the days when you never went down, even when your kneecap was facing the wrong direction or you had a six inch gash in your head (ala Butcher & Ince)??????

 

[Spurs_Bear]

I agree this is a black day for European football, thanks to the lack of nerve/willingness to go through with it from UEFA and Michel Platini in the face of extreme pressure from one of the "big club"s politicians and lawyers.

So Arsenal may have "rightly" felt as if they were picked on while "everyone does it". What this actually means is that if a smaller club was punished this way, it would have been accepted much easier and the big club would have been praising UEFA for their excellent leadership of the game. As in fact happened the only time UEFA banned a player for cheating and winning a penalty previously - and conveniently it was just little Lithuania they punished.

Until one of the high profile, big clubs is punished for their player's cheating, no real progress would be made here - as nobody would pay real attention.

The more valid point/accusation levied at UEFA, which probably made them quite uncomfortable and which made Arsenal's pressure more telling was that in both of the occasions a player was banned for diving it happened against a Scottish team (Lithuania v Scotland in Euro 2008 qualifier and Arsenal v Celtic in CL Qf).
Now, No.2 in UEFA Executive Committee is one David Taylor, of Scotland, who is the General Secretary there. Coincidence? Some would say so - thousands wouldn't.

Has Michel Platini overruled David Taylor here, for fear of being accused of Scottish bias in decisions on such bans? Why have UEFA not acted so decisively on other occasions of similarly high-ish profile, which would have made them look far more objective and strong?

A stand must be made against this pathetic trend which has become far too prevalent and more often than not damages "lesser" teams in matches against "bigger" teams. And inevitably, one of the big clubs would have to suffer such punishment. UEFA should have stood firm here if they really wanted to set an example, so that other big clubs took them seriously.

Next will inevitably come reversal of Chelsea FC punishment after UEFA accepts, after "careful consideration of further evidence", that they cannot prove Chelsea's wrongdoing.

Very good, sums it up really well.

It is a big worry the power that the 'big' clubs seem to have. Sooner or later we are going to see these same clubs going on strike when things go against them.