From Busquets at FC Barcelona, to Ronaldo at Manchester united then Real Madrid. From the Drogba of Chelsea to Eduardo once at Arsenal. From Krasic at Juventus to all the other players of all the teams we follow. Diving is the curse that usually address them all and mark disgrace bruises on their talent and quality. The question is: Can we generalize and say that all diving acts are wrong? Or is there a room to classify diving in two categories: Fair and unfair?
Advocatus Diaboli
Football and Diving
The fast spontaneous answer is that there shouldn't be any place for diving in world football. Done and dusted. Yet, Daniel Alves was able in seven days to make anyone who has an attention for details reconsider.
In the first match, Dani was at the receiving end of a knock by Zaragoza player Leonardo Ponzio. The rules are clear: Red card. And that's what happened, Ponzio was suspended. Fair enough.
Few days later, Dani continued his experiment and this time he was at guilt when he dangerously kicked FC Copenhagen left back, Oscar Wendt. The rules are clear: Red card. Yet, Alves survived without a booking. UEFA made no respond afterward as well. Unfair.Now if we try to figure what made the difference between the two situations dictating fairness in the first case while delivering an unfair outcome in the other, it is easy to tell that the victims response to the attack made all the difference. Alves dive in the first case brought fairness, while Oscar Wendt honesty kept a frustrated Alves in the game with a threat that he may break someone else leg or kneck.
Thats not the only time where diving leads to fair play, while honesty dragged its knight to a losing end. Again, few days after the match against Copenhagen, FC Barcelona visited Madrid to play Getafe. Then:
In my opinion, that's a penalty. The defender didn't touch the ball, but Messi's legs. Messi lost his balance and that was enough to kill the threat on Getafe's goal. It was still a goalless draw. Messi decided not to fall as long as he can still stand on his feet. The referee thought that as long as Messi is not flying in the air, banging on the field, rolling like a wool ball holding his leg at one moment and his head in another, before raising his arms and screaming complains, no penalty is deserved. Messi didn't do this act, and he got no penalty. Was a little dive enough to set the records right?
If the defenders feel free to kick you at well, is there any fairness for the forwards to start a mental game that make the defenders think twice to find a smart way to defend rather than a reckless approach? Because when you don't dive at all (and here I am not claiming that Messi doesn't do it at all), you may end up harassed by football butchers.
But maybe, some dives make it hard for anyone to argue the annoyance of that habit.
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