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Rediff.com  » Sports » World Cup: Tell us, should footballers be severely punished for diving?
This article was first published 10 years ago

World Cup: Tell us, should footballers be severely punished for diving?

Last updated on: June 30, 2014 15:17 IST

Image: Arjen Robben of the Netherlands and Rafael Marquez of Mexico react the referee awarded the penalty to The Netherlands during their World Cup last 16 match on Sunday
Photographs: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

The Netherlands' Arjen Robben is a repeat offender when it comes to diving. He did the same against Mexico on Sunday that robbed the game of a fair result.

Mexico defender Rafael Marquez stuck his foot out and Netherlands winger Robben went down for an injury-time penalty that took his team into the World Cup quarter-finals with a 2-1 victory.

With extra-time looming, the pacey Robben went down in the box under a challenge from defender Marquez that brought accusations of play-acting from Mexico.

The Netherlands won the game, but Robben told Marques after the game in the players' changing area "that it wasn't a penalty, though one of the previous (tackles) was," Marquez told journalists in comments that were translated from Spanish.

In the past, we have seen many players dive to get advantage during matches and reveal later that they did dive to gain advantage in 50-50 challenges. 

With the amount of video footage available, these days it can be easily determined if a player has gained unfair advantage by diving and a penalty can be imposed depending on the damage done to the opposing team.

So, tell us dear readers: should FIFA use technology to catch the guilty and make diving a punishable offence?

- Click here to have your say...