The German Cure-All To Diving: Just Ask.

By: chris | November 12th, 2009

1507585665_f58d1b40f9 We’ve all done it. Tried to decipher the means, motives and mayhem behind a certain situation all within the whirling storm of our minds, failing to do the one oh so simple thing which could solve all our problems. On occasion causing a much larger problem through the tangents of an imagination enough to make Roald Dahl blush.

Well sometimes it just pays to ask.

The diving uproar had hit a boil after the perfectly executed archer’s bow of David N’Gog earlier in the week, winning Liverpool a point in the process. And every time a blatant dive occurs, think tanks the world over come together to solve this diving epidemic. Every single time they come up with a new theory; every single time diving continues.

The latest and greatest comes to us from Germanyland and it, like everything else, could work. But probably won’t.

In Germany they tried an experiment with deliberate handball with surprising success. When the referee suspected that a hand had been used in the scoring of a goal he would ask the player.

If the player admitted that he had handled, a free kick was given and no disciplinary action followed. If he denied it was handball the goal stood, but if the video replay proved he had lied, a three-match ban followed.

Pretty simple, yes? Probably not going to slay the dragon that is diving entirely, but as part of an anti-diving crime fighting kit – along with the archer’s bow knowledge, video replay and the snake pit from Indiana Jones – it could be a cog in the machine which eventually eradicates simulation from the landscape.

The problem comes when contemplating how many footballers will suck up their pride and, with millions of televisions tuning in, plead guilty on the spot. Chances are if their integrity is challenged enough to dive in the first place, they’ll have no problem taking their chances with the legal system.

Which is clearly why the snake pit needs implementation. But points for trying, nonetheless.

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star_bury

I think the reverse of the "last man" rule should be applied. If a defender denies a goal-scoring opportunity with a foul, he's sent off. That same tackle at midfield may not even warrant a card at all....

If a player dives at midfield yellow-card him. If he dives in the box to GAIN a goal-scoring opportunity, send him off.
Laurie

I actually like this idea. Simple, yet frequently effective. I think people prefer to be honest, at least when required to and when it will cost them not to be.

In this situation, a player can weigh the aftereffects of truth vs. lie and make his decision accordingly.

I would think that a much-more-than-3-match ban would be necessary in very important games, though. Who's going to be honest in a Champions League final? Or a match that determines promotion or relegation?
Oli Davies

YES. I've said this for a while. Often after a dive, the player claims to have simply fallen over, and we cant deny that.

If you ask them if they claim to have been fouled BEFORE taking the penalty/freekick, then this excuse is useless.

On its own, this cant stop Diving, but it can help to validate other methods, including the snake pit.
Ryan

I have no idea who originally suggested it, but I am a huge supporter of having a 5th and 6th officials, who just stand on the goal-line. They would have a near-perfect view of the part of the field that has the most dives (inside the Penalty Box), and be able to make accurate calls. The best way to combat it is to have someone there who will ALWAYS have a good view of the situation and can make the correct call.
cap123

well that's all well and good in punishing the player. But if the other team loses because of it what the hell do they care about a three match ban.