Finally Some Action

[Joe.]

So, Inter Milan need a win against Roma to officially secure the Serie A title. Adriano has the ball in the box, gets to the keeper, feigns contact, goes down and cons the referee into giving a penalty.

Now the good part. Inter lose the game 3-1 anyway and Adriano is banned for 2 matches after clear video evidence that he dived.

If football want to nail the cheats then this is the way to do it. This is what will make players think twice about diving. If they do it, ban them. It's simple, and very effective. I'm sure Adriano won't be doing it again anytime soon.

[Bert]

This is good news for the game.

[Maybes]

This is good news for the game.

Seconded. At least the italians are doing something right.

[Simi]

This is good news for the game.

I agree. Good to see some action finally being taken.

FA take note.

[lookwhaticando]

I don't think a two game ban is going to do much... it might stop him for a while, but I doubt it.

I think direct punishment of the club - not the player - is the biggest deterrent.

Punish the club responsible by taking away any points earned during a game where a dive has taken place (no points in the Inter case above) plus a three point fine, minimum. The more frequently offending clubs (i.e. those with the most divers or most frequent divers) will be punished more and more as time goes on.

First serious con trick: erase points earned + 3 point fine.

Second serious con trick: era points earned + 3 point fine.

Third serious con trick: erase points earned and a six point fine...

The worst offenders will quickly suffer great point haemorrhage - for clubs with things to play for at the top, they miss out... for those fighting for their lives, they get relegated. The club will suffer greatly. That'll give the club great reason to stop the diving themselves any way they see fit. The player could suffer by being fined by the club, or frozen out for a certain period...

The clubs have by far the most to lose from diving punishment. Ban a player for two games, they don't play for two games - big woo.

Punish the clubs by limiting their ability to win things or generate revenue (by being in the top flight as opposed to being relegated from it, or by making the Champions league as opposed to not...) and I reckon you'll see quite a response from the clubs in the way they handle their players.

Where would Tottenham be if they lost the three points earned thanks to that Zokora dive earlier this season, as well as suffering a three point fine for the event? 44 points, indeed - quite adrift of a lucrative UEFA cup spot.

Would Man U be leading the table if the sometimes-shady Ronaldo had been found to have dived? How about Chelsea and their sometimes-collapsing forwards?

Still, good on the Italians for doing something at least... makes a change that such an institutionally corrupt country as Italy would act in such a manner.

[davieG]

Would they have meted out punishment if it had resulted in the team winning? I doubt it as they would then needed to have given serious consideration to a replay - I'd bet they'd bottle that.

[Jon the Hat]

I don't think a two game ban is going to do much... it might stop him for a while, but I doubt it.

I think direct punishment of the club - not the player - is the biggest deterrent.

Banning the player does punish the club AND the player themsleves. Think about Man U with their injury problems, or Chelsea also competing on many fronts.. If they lost Ronaldo or Drogba for 2 or 3 games they would be seriously affected. What you need is the Managers to be shouting at their players when they dive and get banned. Then it is job done. you don;t go against your manager, simple as that. Until the managers feel the pain, there will be no change in behaviour.

You will never get points deduction past the Premier league for this type of offence.

[lookwhaticando]

Banning the player does punish the club AND the player themsleves. Think about Man U with their injury problems, or Chelsea also competing on many fronts.. If they lost Ronaldo or Drogba for 2 or 3 games they would be seriously affected. What you need is the Managers to be shouting at their players when they dive and get banned. Then it is job done. you don;t go against your manager, simple as that. Until the managers feel the pain, there will be no change in behaviour.

You will never get points deduction past the Premier league for this type of offence.

You have a point, of course, and I agree that losing key players is punishment in its own right.

Although a Drogba or a Ronaldo would be a massive blow for the likes of Chelsea & Man U... what if it was a Richardson for Man U?

Say he took a bit of a tumble in the box, got the penalty that secured the points. Richardson's not what you'd call a key player in the United squad - so his loss may not be all that problematic for them. It'd be an easy sacrifice for Richardson to make, because a two or three game ban probably wouldn't affect him in the same way it'd affect Ronaldo.

You'd hope, of course, that if the key players do it and suffer the consequences, it'd set an example to the lesser important players. So perhaps my concern is irrelevant... but I still think punishing the club is a much tougher approach that might take effect quicker and hopefully more effectively. If you punish the club and let them punish the player, the manager - no matter who he is - will be furious at the offending player, because it's cost the club. I think a club punishment is more likely to stir a manager into action than a key player out for two games...

That's my opinion, anyhow. Perhaps the FA/PL/FL would never agree to that kind of thing, which would be a shame in my eyes (it might blow the title chase wide open... ) but I'll be quite happy to see something done for a change. Banning the player in question would tick the boxes for me, even if I think another form of punishment would be the better option.

Needless to say, I still think Zokora should still be sitting on the sidelines -one way or another - thanks to the Portsmouth game.

[Geo V]

Its a good start but Italy has a hell of a lot of cleaning up to do regarding there football!