[Anomander Rake]

I'm just wondering what everyone thinks about the constant shirt pulling and pushing players on purpose and diving.

Whenever I've played football with friends etc, I never see shirt pulling etc, and if someone happens to accidently foul someone, they quickly own up to it and the other team gets a free kick. Now I know this is nothing like professional football.

I must say I'm kinda disgusted when players are pulling shirts or pretending to have been fouled (diving). These are supposed to be professional footballers.

I have much more respect for players who don't do this type of stuff and own up (e.g. they happen to foul a player, they quickly go and apologise to the player and help them up). It is the same with other sports (e.g. Cricket, Batsman walking off etc).

Are more and more footballers playing dirty? Aren't they disgusted at their own actions?

[Satan]

I do it too. I had people complaining about my foul play all the time in my days. I don't know what happens, but whenever I enter the pitch I'll do anything to win. If that means diving inside the penalty box, then so be it. I'm not proud of it when I get off the pitch (actually, I'm quite ashamed of it), but I just can't help it for some reason.

[Rich the Great]

That sort of stuff used to really annoy back when I played football in my younger days. Being either a goalkeeper or defender, I hated that an opposition forward would do something like that, and it led to many instances of me sticking my studs in, out of pure frustration sometimes.

[temp]

the problem is they are such good actors that it's beneficial to do so and they get rewarded for it.

In hockey, here in Canada if a player took a dive the media would have a field day ridiculing that player as being a wuss...even their own teammates and fans would start booing them off the ice, not to mention you'd have a target on your back and goons would come after you.

Don't some of these players get a rep. for that though (i.e. Drogba?) and then start getting flagged with yellow cards?

[Agraba]

You never had hundreds of thousands of pounds hanging on one game.

[Tsundoku]

Yeah, it's a bit different in the pro leagues and at the Cup.

I don't think it's happeneing more, we're just getting even better coverage these days. Now we can even see when some primadonna forward is actually hanging on to a defender and claiming shirt-pulling! The thing is, the ref has to catch them in the act, and they're just smarter about it these days. Ever since "that" moment with Rivaldo *spit* at the 2002 Cup, refs have been harder on diving, but they are still human, and some forwards (read: wankers) are disgustingly good at it.

One thing I loathe is the "oh, I'm so injured I can't get up", but when the stretcher arrives up they get none the worse for wear. Time wasters. I say if the stretcher gets called on to the field, they MUST LEAVE ON IT. If they do not - as in they either walk off, or just get up and play on - it should be an instant RED CARD for unsportsmanlike behaviour. After a few get handed out, watch it evaporate as a practice.

The only reason for ending up on the deck is if you didn't mean it, and once you are there, if you're OK, get up and play on. Gorram handbag carrying panty waist girly men *muttermuttersnarl* ...

I agree about walking in cricket. The phrase "It's just not cricket" has to mean something. Only problem is some countries claim dodgy catches. There's not much advantage to either walking or not in cricket, as the umpire makes the decision, and these days can refer to the third umpire for a replay etc. The benefit is in demonstrating good sportsmanship, even in a tight important game.

Of course, "sport" went out of professional sports a long time ago.

Cheers,

La Sombra, cynic?

[drinksinbars]

i am a butcher on the football field but then i played defense. i didnt go for shirt pulling i just tried to break legs:) i very rarely gave away penalties but then it was much more of a contact sport back then. plus me and my mates always had a carryout and smoke breaks as we played so there was no real reason for shirt pulling but lots for kicking!

it really pisses me off that people dive, but equally frustrating is that its now assumed people are diving! thats even worse when someone deserves a free kick and the ref just waves it away!

[Tsundoku]

drinksinbars said:

i am a butcher on the football field but then i played defense. i didnt go for shirt pulling i just tried to break legs:)

Yeah, I'm a bit the same. Revenge is special though.

I played left back in Uni for my college (when they could wake me up at stupid o'clock on a Saturday after a big Friday night). One day some bright lad from one of the rich colleges decided to elbow me in the head. Deliberately. After my head stopped ringing and the cut under my eye stopped bleeding, I went on and got him back. After I landed full on his left knee - and heard the accompanying sweet scream of agony - I got red carded and banned from further play that year at the next meeting of the sports council. I was also asked not to play the year after that when the team list was submitted.

It was worth it. I may have been out for the season, but he needed surgery. No breaks, just AC ligament torn badly and dislocated patella. It was hilarious watching them trying to pop it back in.

Cheers,

La Sombra, normally very pacifistic but strangely irritated by dirty players

[Asandir]

Keano = Angry = Vinnie Jones = Psychotic = Sombra!!!
Thats one way to play footy.
Haha

[Gothos]

refs should spam around more cards. and there should be out-of-play clock and monitoring like in hockey and basketball and volleyball. and then just watch teams like spain, italy or portugal sink...

[Mezla PigDog]

@ Sombra - I'm shocked!

I think this World Cup has been alright in terms of fair play. There have been a few dives but the refs have ignored most of them. De Rossi's elbow is the only really cynical foul so far. I love to see a crunching sliding tackle. Shirt pulling is mostly 50:50 defender:attacker anyway. As for rolling about on the floor after a small knock, I like it! In my house, we count how many 360 rolls they manage in one go, it's good fun! I like to see multi-millionaires acting like idiots. I like to see them bleeding and/or crying more, but there's bound to be a penalty shoot out after the group stages.

My main problem is the lack of ridicule they receive for playacting. If footballers started being laughed at on a regular basis, they'd soon stop.

[drinksinbars]

i gave as good as i took. stopped player forward when i had my ankle broken by three people at once, that hurt. moved into defense and just dished it out to whoever was stupid enough to come near my part of the field. i was playiong with my mates one time and my best mates wee bro was playing and he was liek lightning . so he was playing winger for the opposition and kept zippin down the line and nutmegging people. I got sick and tired of that so moved to the outside, purposefully left my legs wide open for a nutmegged and when he went past i just flat out clothes lined him. it was awesome:) we dont call fouls too often but i let him have a freekick for that.

[temp]

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...and when he went past i just flat out clothes lined him

heheh, I am picturing that in slow motion instant replay...

[Tsundoku]

Mezla PigDog said:

@ Sombra - I'm shocked!

I may be nice, but I'm not a doormat.

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I think this World Cup has been alright in terms of fair play. There have been a few dives but the refs have ignored most of them. De Rossi's elbow is the only really cynical foul so far.

True, from what I've seen the fouls are lower in number than previous Cups. Might be the players awareness of the incredible levels of TV coverage

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I love to see a crunching sliding tackle. Shirt pulling is mostly 50:50 defender:attacker anyway.

Yeah, too many refs blow the whistle on what is just hard competition for a 50:50 ball.

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As for rolling about on the floor after a small knock, I like it! In my house

Now it's my turn to be shocked. Go Mr Pigdog!

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My main problem is the lack of ridicule they receive for playacting. If footballers started being laughed at on a regular basis, they'd soon stop.

I laugh at them all the time, but then again, they're the ones with the millions, the hot cars, the screeching mercenary skank wives and the complete lack of anything remotely resembling "taste".

Cheers,

La Sombra, considers he got off lightly, upon reflection ...

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

Diving hurts the sport in general. One of the reason why "football" isn't more popular in the US is the perception that these guys are wusses who fall down and cry if someone bumps them. Now, this really isn't true, but when World Cup rolls around and I actually watch, and see players crying like little girls just for a penalty, it turns me off from the sport. When I see guys get hit hard, and don't whine and keep playing, it makes me want to watch more. Unfortunately, I see more flopping than sacking up.