Quote:
Originally Posted by sherer
i'd like something like that but as we have seen with Eduardo and others all that happens is the team appeals and then because they touched a blade of grass or had the slightest contact possible the ban gets reduced.
What we need as an over reaction as I don't think a 203 game ban would have an affect. I'd ban players for 5 games for a first offence and then 10 if they did it again then it would really help to cut it out
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They you would have the ambiguity of if it were a dive or not. It would be just as unfair, and people would be protesting just as much, if a player was ruled to have dived when his supports think he didn't. Even via video replays, such as Anelka and Eduardo's 'dives'. I think Eduardo felt contact and decided to go to ground. I felt Anelka's was an actual foul as Given got his ankle.
You said cheating is cheating but it's true that it depends on the player. The Anelka foul was almost the same as the one Rooney got against Arsenal. Both were not going to reach the ball and were looking for the foul. It's still a penalty.
The difference is that when it was England's Golden Boy the press and fan base said "Well, He was going down before contact was made but contact was made. It's a clear penalty". When it's Anelka against the Irish (and it makes the faux-outrage less clear) then he's dirty cheat. A label not given to Michael Owen against Argentina.
When Paul Scholes set's up a goal with his hand it's forgotten, when Henry set's up a goal with his hand then "his reputation is forever tarnished and he will forever be known as 'the cheat'".
At least France feel guilty about the handball and the way they went though. They don't seem to have a national fantasy that they are above cheating and are paragons of Fair Play.