x

Fair Play To Garry Monk For Standing Firm, There Is A Simple Solution !

If there is one thing that most football fans would like to see wiped out of the game it is the players constant throwing themselves to the ground if an opponent accidentally brushes past them.

Garry Monk is standing by his comment that Victor Moses "Cheated" when being awarded a penalty for Stoke City against Monk's Swansea City and having seen the incident on TV I have to agree with Monk that is was a dive.

I also applaud Monk for making a stand on the situation, most managers will have a moan about diving when it is against their team, but few actually do anything about it when the diver is one of their own players.

It is something that the FA now need to crack down on and eradicate from the game, the sad fact is that in today's high speed game it is very difficult for a referee to differenciate between a dive and a genuine foul so it is time for the FA to step in and help out referee's.

One option would be to introduce an instant decision via a replay watched by the fourth official, however this would be a little too stop start for the game.

I have a simple solution and one that I believe would wipe out diving very quickly, contentious decisions could be reviewed after each weekend's games, and adjudicated on as per the Dubious Goals panel.

It would of course be farcical to then take away goals or penalties etc, but there is one effective method, if a player is found guilty of diving then he is banned for one game, if he is then found guilty a second time then he gets a two game ban, a third time = a three game ban, but by then I feel diving would be eradicated.

If we did this it would be amazing how quickly diving vanished from our games, a player when faced with losing money from being unavailable for a number of matches will not be throwing money away by throwing himself to the ground, similarly suddenly managers will not be allowing their players to be banned for these offences.

Its a simple method but I feel effective almost instantaneously, one thing though it is needed, football fans are fed up of seeing preening players throw themselves to the ground at every opportunity, for one thing it keeps breaking the flow of the game, look at a Premier match from the early 90's and its amazing how players seemed to stay on their feet back then, now things are completely different, football needs to get its house in order before its too late.

What to read next:

Dale Drawn At Home In FA Trophy Quarter Final
Rochdale have been given a home draw against Altrincham in the quarter finals of the FA Trophy.
Refwatch - Rochdale v Oldham Athletic
Dale’s local derby at home to Oldham Athletic on Tuesday night will be refereed by PAUL MARSDEN.
Refwatch - Worthing v Rochdale (FA Trophy)
Dale’s FA Trophy fifth round tier at Worthing on Saturday will be refereed by STEPHEN PARKINSON.
Boston Game Postponed Less Than 90 Minutes Before Kick-Off
Tonight's game in hand due to a postponement, has now in fact also been called off less than 90 minutes before kick-off after the club joked earlier in the day and claimed no pitch inspection was even planned.
Refwatch - Rochdale v Boston United
Dale’s rearranged midweek home game against Boston United on Tuesday will be refereed by ANDREW MILLER.
TVOS Preview - Rochdale v Yeovil Town
Rochdale AFC’s matchday programme – The Voice of Spotland – is back for Saturday’s Vanarama National League fixture against Yeovil Town.
Refwatch - Rochdale v Yeovil Town
Dale’s first Saturday home match for 77 days (weather & pitch permitting) against Yeovil Town this weekend will be refereed by SCOTT OLDHAM.
Refwatch - Rochdale v Stoke City U21 (National League Cup thing)
Dale’s third game in the National League Cup against Stoke City U21 on Tuesday will be refereed by MICHAEL CRUSHAM.
Refwatch - Forest Green Rovers v Rochdale
Dale’s game at Forest Green Rovers on Saturday will be refereed by JAMES DURKIN.
Refwatch - Stockton Town v Rochdale (FA Trophy)
Dale’s rearranged FA Trophy fourth round tie at Stockton Town on Wednesday will be refereed by PAUL COOPER.