Tom Daley impressions

Presumably defenders who cheat by shirt pulling etc at corners will also be getting retrospective bans, or is it just the one form of cheating that's to be punished?

 

The difference with that is that the officials see the shirt pulling but choose to ignore it most of the time.

 

Gareth Bale tackles referees over repeated bookings for diving

• Tottenham winger holds direct talks with Andre Marriner
• Bale booked four times this season for simulation

Paul Doyle
The Guardian, Friday 14 December 2012 22.30 GMT

Gareth Bale has held talks with the Premier League referee Andre Marriner in an attempt to discourage officials from booking him for diving.

Bale has received four yellow cards this season for simulation – more than any other player in the Premier League – but Bale has explained that his actions have been misinterpreted and he does not deserve to be labelled a diver.

Marriner visited Tottenham this week as part of a routine information session that all Premier League clubs get from a refereeing representative and Bale, along with the Spurs manager, André Villas-Boas, took the opportunity to explain that injuries the Welshman has received in the past have left him so worried about being seriously hurt by dangerous tackles that he will take evasive action that, given the speed at which he tends to run, can lead to him falling.

The player recognises it is difficult for referees to distinguish between a dive and legitimate dodging of a potentially damaging challenge but pleaded for greater discernment. Bale said he will continue taking evasive action to avoid injury, even it means getting more bookings and gaining a greater reputation for being a diver.

"He has had potentially career-threatening injuries and sometimes for the pace that he goes at it looks like a dive from the player when he is actually protecting himself," said Villas-Boas. "He avoids opponents' tackles and with the pace that he approaches challenges it's very difficult for referees to judge. Gareth knows this and was very complimentary of them. If he has gained that [diver] tag, it is unfair. But it doesn't bother him in any way shape or form so we keep doing our job."

Bale has been out of action for the last two weeks due to a hamstring injury and Villas-Boas will wait until after training on Saturday to determine whether he has recovered sufficiently to take part in Spurs' match against Swansea City on Sunday. Villas-Boas may also be able to call on Scott Parker as the midfielder, who has yet to feature this season because of an achilles injury, is expected to be fit enough to be included as a substitute.

The manager says Parker's return represents a big boost for the club. "We count on him [Parker] a lot," said Villas-Boas. "We have been waiting patiently for him, now he has made his recovery and is building his fitness. He can be a major influence, offensively and defensively."

Benoît Assou-Ekotto could also make a comeback against Swansea after recovering from the knee injury that has kept him out of action since early September. However, Villas-Boas said his team's other long-time absentee, Younes Kaboul, is still about a month away from fitness.

Meanwhile, Villas-Boas rubbished reports that he intends to sign 20-year-old Porto winger Christian Atsu in January. Villas-Boas gave the Ghanaian his breakthrough when he was manager of the Portuguese club but says that he has no plans to work with the player again soon.

"He has been linked but there is nothing in it," said the manager. "We are not looking to bring him to our club. He is a wonderful, gifted player and there are some things going on with his contract at Porto, renewal discussions, but he is certainly not coming here."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/dec/14/gareth-bale-tottenham-diving

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