Crying Wolf

Err we were discussing it much of yesterday in the vs villa thread. Also off topic forum re Saurez.

In these situations, I would like to hear what these players have to see. Just want to hear their defense, if they have one. I saw Suarez dive yesterday, it was just laughable. As for Bale I feel so let down. Such a skill full player and this is the last thing I expect from such players. Single reason why dont buy his shirts.

there is nothing i hate more in the game than diving. It's cowardly, dis-honest and shows no respect for yourself, the oppostion, the fans and the game of football in general. It needs to be addressed and players need to be severely punished when it is clear that they have dived. It is blatent cheating!!!

It is me, or is Bale trying to act more Spanish in order to ready himself for a move to Spain? He definitely is diving more, and he appeals for absolutely everything with a Welsh-stroke-Latin gesture... He is auditioning for Spanish Idol...

I think that is what he did on this one Spurdon... expected contact so got his feet off the floor and it never came... made him look like a bit of a mug but despite hating diving i'd rather see him get the hell out of the way and not get injured. The pace he's running at and the slightest touch is enough to make him hit the deck as he is tall so doesn't have a low centre of gravity like a player like Lennon... I suppose Ronaldo would fall into the same category though i've watched him play a bit recently and seems to be quite honest in his play now, as you rightly say i suppose if you're scoring 50 goals a season why wouldn't you be!

I know that his prior responses have been that he goes to ground to avoid the challenge and possible injury but in this case he could have quit easily have jumped over the expected challenge. That being said, at least he did ot jump up will his arms flailing like Basil Fawlty looking for the foul.
I agree with jod, he needs to be told enough is enough or the whole team faces repurcusions in the form of blown calls by the refs.

Bloody foreigners!!

SanchezSpur I totally agree, no one has the right to tell you to stand there and get bones broken by players not fit to lace your boots. ParkLane67 it didn't look good though did it as you say much better timing needed.

For those arguing he was trying to avoid a collision, just think about it. If he stays on his feet then either the goalkeeper fouls him and gets sent off or Bale has the ball and the keeper is stranded miles from goal. Football is meant to be a contact sport, diving to avoid imaginaryy tackles is not meant to be part of the game.

Carroll did virtually the same thing against Newcastle and got a yellow for it. If that was another teams player you'd all be saying he's a cheat..ie Suarez. It's double standards. I'm all for protecting your own but sometimes you have to hold your hands up and se what's in front of you. The boy's one hell of a player and he gets kicked a lot game after game but the fact remains, he dives.

The ref gave nothing, so I thought that according to dump FA "rules" they can still punish Bale for it..... And they should. However, I have now learnt that the same dumb FA "rules" mean that they cannot punish him because the ref saw it and chose not to punish anyone. The is why Huth's stamp CANNOT be punished. The ref saw the APPALLING stamp (that left stud marks!) and chose not to punish him. Case closed.

Jod, I agree he had nothing to lose there by trying to stay on his feet. Was just a heavy touch that went out of play, but had he flicked it passed Guzan then he has a run on goal from a wide area to make a chance. He needed to be a bit braver. Not sure he deserved a card as was expecting the tackle that didn't come. Sometimes it is not a foul, but also not a card. He just looked a dick at the time. He will be suitably embarrassed I am sure.

@Mix, because both have cheated, I would've thought that was obvious. ps shouldn't the title of the article be Crying Chimp?

Mix26 - you would not like it if Walcott did the same to Lloris and causing Lloris to get sent off... unless it was England vs France as opposed to Spurs vs Arsenal! That is exactly the point. We would rather that NO ONE did this. Let's start by cleaning up our own club. One reason to be proud to be a Spurs fan is that our team is NEVER dirty. Other teams may cheat, but we do not. We are usually high up in the fair play league. Yes people push the envelope, but Bale was pushing far too much there. Trying to get someone sent off is plain wrong - UNLESS they deserve it - which Guzan clearly did not. There IS no game if it is not played with an acceptable level of fairness.

There is no excuse for this. It needs to be dealt with by the club as there is no will at the League level. AVB should tell him straight out, next dive, you're off. I'd have pulled him straight away the other day. Not onlt was it embarrassing (and don't tell me that dive was to avoid potential injury) it could have seen the keeper shown red and then what? This is cheating, pure and simple. When Zokora did it, he was lamabested (rightly) on all of the Spurs forums I read. Bale should receive no better treatment. He doesn't need to do that. Unacceptable.

It is also time for the league to retroactively suspend players. Suspend Bale and other divers 2 games. Make it stick. Make teams pay for it. Force officials to make the call on the pitch. When not a 50-50 or a ball first situation, there needs to be a card. Someone is getting it. Bale poked the ball by butt the keeper never even touched him, or got close to touching him. Kagawa was going down long before any contact with Dembele, which he initiated in his fall. These acts cannot be tolerated.

I didn't see much of the post game press conferences - was AVB asked about it? The players, teams, league all need to be accountable. COYS

Avoiding the impact is a complete red herring. He could just as easily have jumped up to avoid the impact but he chose to go to ground in a spectacular fashion. I expect better. COYS

Wishful thinking LJ, it's endemic in the game atm which is a shame.

Too true Tony hence the frustration at comparing any of our players to such scum as Ballotelli for example... I'm not by any means condoning what Bale did but in any sport u have to push the boundaries of the rules. Look at Holt for example, he is an annoying cf who gets away with sooo many silly little challenges that merit a foul but the ref does nothing??? If Bale dived in the fa cup final and we won on that goal then who will complain? Perhaps we deserve to receive a little luck rather stick for once.

I can't believe some one said in effect "they never managed to cripple George best so he should not go down" Well lucky old George! Bale has had a bone broken and is obviously nervous of the contact. Yes he needs to cut out the theatrics but I stand by he has the right to try and avoid perceived danger.

Can we please stop bringing up Pulis like he's some kind of ******** "God of Fair Play". The man is as crooked as anyone out there, his teams don't even play football.

Crissyboy. I only agreed on one certain opinion of his. Does it mean i think he is "the God of Fair Play"? Hell no

spurfect, wasn't having a dig mate, just he's been mentioned a few times on here the last couple of days by various people. I respect the fact that he spoke out about it, but on the same token it's laughable coming from him. He didn't mention Huth stamping on Suarez, maybe he didn't see it like our friend 'specsavers' in the dugout down the road at the scum.

Yeah, Spurdon, lets have two types of football. One for those who abide by the laws and accept it is a contact sport, and one for the mystic meg community who wish to 'anticipate' challenges by giving it the full dead parrot impersonation to 'avoid perceived danger'. Oooh, euphemism overload.

We can't call anyone for cheating when in Bale we have a major culprit. I know that when you are going at the speed he usually does, it is wise to try and vault tackles, to prevent injury as often the challenges are late. That is one aspect but it doesn't excuse the blatant diving that he is guilty of from time to time. AVB needs to have a serious word as it can come back to bite you as Suarez is now finding out. It does neither Bale or the club any credit, and must stop.

Bale didn't dive to get a player booked or sent off though, he got out the way. Yes it is splitting hairs a little, but there is a difference, he wasn't trying to gain an advantage. He had a 6'4" player running full-tilt at him.

I agree though, Bale is taking the "avoid contact" thing to the extremes. This is a contact sport, a sport that has been watered down in favour of the attacking player, from previous decades. You don't see leg breaking tackles every week anymore.

We don't LJ, the players regard themselves as clever if they manage to gain an advantage. Remember Suarez handball V Ghana, disgusting play, yet in his home country he's feted for that moment, when he should actually be fetid.

stu_u2k- That's priceless. Next time Bale goes down perhaps the man in black might ask whether that was for real or pre-emptive 'escape', and check whether he's laughing it off? Might actually be simpler if he wasn't such a diving cheating tw*t, and giving himself and the club a bad name, as his shameful antics on Sunday showed. And, someone from the club, management or otherwise should issue a statement deploring this sort of thing. The silence is depressingly predictable.

The two recent innovations that have crept into the game in order to cheat, that I personally find most annoying, and frustrating, are diving and shirt tugging, and I think both are being encouraged by the fact that they are largely ignored by referees. Diving is simulation therefore ungentlemanly conduct, and should be punished by a yellow card, or as some suggest a red card, whether seen during the game or by video evidence later. Shirt tugging is becoming blatant often right in front of the referee, and is largely ignored, again it is cheating and should be penalised. Until players start to suffer suspensions and missing games for either offence, it will continue largely with the consent of clubs as well. Rodger's attempt at defending Suarez's comedy dive v Stoke was a disgrace. Clubs nd managers have to admit the problem and stamp it out. We jump on overly physical tackles even when the player wins the ball nowadays, yet we tolerate these divas diving asround.

Crissy, there is a huge difference between Suarez's handball against Ghana. he knew what he was doing. Did nothing to hide it. Knew what the punishment was and made a calculated choice to handle the ball and take away the scoring chance. I have no issue with what Suarez did in that game and would expect any player to do the same if there was no way to stop the shot legally. It was a goal but for the handball. He knew there would be a PK and knew he was going to the showers and would be missing the next game. He made a choice and as I mentioned, did nothing to hide it. Like hauling down a player on a breakaway in hockey, you know what the result will be. Every foul is against the rules. Some have stiffer consequences. Deliberate hand ball is a red card. Shame Nani did not get one when Gomes had the "advantage". COYS

Frank, if players wanted shirt-tugging to be eradicated they could do so just as it was done in rugby. Make the shirts so tight that you really could not grab it unless the player was stationary. I rarely had my shirt grabbed in rugby unless it was a collar or in the scrum. Very rare. Under Armour makes some fabulous skin-tight products that are warm and weather resistant. In fact, it's ironic that the gear they wear under their kits is essentially ungrabbable during open play. COYS

Crissy, all fouls are unsporting. Some fouls are cheating. A mis-timed tackle is cheating and is dangerous play, but there is no intent. Suarez did what he meant to do and did nothing to deceive anyone about what had happened. He was sent off for deliberately handling the ball. An offense that is clearly outlined in the rules. He didn't cheat. COYS

Above I meant to say that a mis-timed tackle is against the rules and is dangerous play, but there is no intent. COYS

Fair comment Peterballb, perhaps the governing bodies should be looking at that. I think it is their responsibility rather than the players. Having said that it still baffles me that a referee can fail to see a shirt being pulled off the back of a player right under their nose, and fail to penalise it, especially as it is common at corners and should therefore result in a penalty. If teams started to concede penalties, and lose games, then managers would see that it stopped.

Crissybwoy, difference is, diving is rightfully seen as cheating, anywhere, any time. Its trying to fool the referee, get another player carded/sent off, win a penalty that should not have been given. Its just cheating. Intentional handball on the line is done all the time and nobody says anything about it, you can't suddenly call it cheating just because its the final minute of a game. He receives his red, a penalty is given. He broke the rules and paid the price. Not too dissimilar to being the last man and pulling down an attacker who is through on goal, in the last minute. You can call it poor sportsmanship, but its just not on the same level as conning the ref. If I genuinely thought Bale was trying to avoid the perceived incoming tackle, id agree with you, but I don't, im obviously talking about diving here.

wasted my time posting that, should have simply typed well said Peter!

"Bloody foreigners!!" wrote Bluedub.

Yes, we know the lad is Welsh, but that's not all that foreign.

But seriously, Bale dives just enough that he's apt not to get the legitimate calls by the officials against the opposition when they hack him. That's a heavy price to pay. The more he dives, the safer it becomes for others to hack him violently. For his own health, stop the diving, Gareth!

Frank doing his best to label our team and players as usual... Peter my point is that players will always bend the rules! Name me a sport that has nothing of the above? I love how posters that have NEVER even played football call our players cheaters for tugging shirts or going down in the tackle easy. Climb off your high horse ffs! The ref is there for a reason and meant to ref a fair game. If a player breaks the law and gets caught then suffer the aftermath.

Frank, too many instances of shirt pulling are 50-50's. The one with BAE a few weeks back, both players had a handful of shirt. I believe they have to go the way of the NHL on this one. They need an official on each goal line and they need a second official on the pitch. Call it all. The players will stop. I also think officials have to stop being so weak. When both players have a handful of shirt, show each of them a yellow. Yes, players will get sent off. Games will be affected. The players will take time to learn. Some will never. But in the end, cheating will be lessened, the jobs of the officials will become easier and they will have the backing especially if the league reviews the films and suspends players retroactively. The official on the pitch can't get it all right. Two will get more right than one. I remember when the NHL went down that road. Prognostications galore about what a mess the game would become with all the stoppages. The game is faster than ever and the number of penalties has not changed much. There is no extra-curricular activity behind the play any longer as it no longer is undetected. Video replay was the same. Oh what a mess it will become. Stoppages every 20 seconds. Ask any ref. They all love it. The call is almost always right. It also makes officiating bias and corruption almost impossible as the officials are always working with other guys. If they brought a second official, goal line officials and stop time, the levels of perceived unfairness would be reduced dramatically and the game would be better for it. COYS

Mix, absolutely. I have no issue with bending the rules. Trying to beat an offside trap. Interfere with a player's path to the ball. Pull the ball back from the other side of the line. Play a ball that you know went out. These are all questions of playing to the whistle and officiating competency. If the officials are competent, the correct decision is made. When you introduce diving or simulation in to the mix it is a completely different dynamic. The official, if they call what they see, will potentially be making the incorrect call. Not for lack of positioning, ability, training, experience, but because the player has chosen with his actions to make the official believe he has seen something that did not occur. This makes calling the game competently, impossible. It is unfair for the player to put the official in that position. It's cheating and is, IMO, repugnant. Diving is cheating. Going down easy under contact is a whole other thing and gets in to the realm of pushing the rules. Intent cannot be determined. That Bale and Kagawa dove, there can be no doubt. The replays are there. COYS

So it's ok to have dubious morals in some instances, but not in others. I'm glad we cleared-up the hypocrisy of it all lol.

Mix- Yeah that's right. All players should look to cheat and it is up to the hapless officials to spot it. Like in life, we are all criminals really, and Plod has to prove it, otherwise we all get away with it. Anyone who says otherwise has never done over a place in their lives, so ain't fit to comment. By the way, thanks for putting your moniker and IQ all in the same handy reference point.

Can I just point out that Bales dive was from the first TV angle a nailed on Red card for Guzan. Yes the opposite angle showed here was mor then three feet between them but a little credit should go to Bale for the artistry of the dive itself. He should then be dragged out on to our state of the art training pitch and beaten with balls of his own sh1.t for the shamless dive he took. If he lifted hi leg out of the contact area because he feared a kick coming (as some are suggesting) then w have an even bigger problem then him diving - he is frightened on the pitch and is placing personal safety over the good of the team. Either way I'm not happy but can somone clarify for me, did he appeal to the ref afterward? On a side note I thought UEFA brought in a rule a few years back that players brandishing imaginary yellow or red cards (ala Guzan) should be booked immediately??

Frank-You are, thankfully, the voice of the majority. I only hope Cliff Jones gives him an earful. Shameful. I used to bang on about Bale when he wasn't in the team, and now, I couldn't care less if he left. Sacrilege for some, but he can eff off as far as I'm concerned.

If Bale so obviously dived, then why wasn't he booked? Someone wasn't doing their job properly. CLEARLY the ref didn't see that particular incident as a dive.

,a

to be fair to bale he didn't appeal...

Slurmz - I think you're beeing to harsh on Bale. Yes - he dives - but he doesn't appeal every time he goes to the ground. To me that makes a big difference compared to the likes of Suarez (I still remember him lying on the ground two minutes into a match counting on his fingers to the ref how many times he'd been fouled) and Young. If I have to choose between Bale being sidelined for months after taking a bad tackle or jumping out of the way to avoid one - I'll go for the latter - any day of the week.

Funny how you will never see threads about Lennon or Dembele diving... something to think about there. Bale's building up a solid portfolio of dive's, won't be long before he reaches Robert Pires status if he carries on.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11701/8155743/Michael-Owen-admits-going-down-to-win-England-penalties-in-98-and-2002-World-Cups

Bale is still young and hopefully he will learn the right way to play the game. When we critisise the foriegn players for bringing it to our game I think we're wrong, a player has a choice in how he plays the game. Also one of the most genuine/honest players in the PL is Aguero and he's Argentinian!! Look at the goal that won the PL last season. He could easily have gone down & was clearly fouled, but he stayed up and got what he deserved!! Lets hope Gareth has look at himself because he could be one of the best we've ever seen or just be labelled a cheat!! I know Spurs fans want him to stay on his feet and win us games!!!

Bale supposedly carrying a knock.

Well, he dived again against Scotland, got a penalty and scored. Footballers dive, get over it.

Cut out the theatrics tonight mostly