carl_spackler wrote:
That's just biased rhubarb, it was a blatant dive to anyone but a Chelsea fan. If Suarez had done it there'd be another 5 pages on this thread.
My bias is not CFC-caused in this issue. If I do have a bias it's that I don't think that the general perception of no contact + player goes down = dive is correct.
Look at that incident again and see what Phil Jones does with his arms. Now I'm looking on youtube so the video isn't too clear, but Jones sticks his left arm out to grab on to Cole, doesn't make enough contact so swings round with his right arm.
From the video he doesn't seem to make much clear contact, but his arm is swinging into Cole who has already had to jump to get round Jones. Jones then throws out both arms in an "I haven't done anything, ref" pose when he clearly was trying to impede Cole.
Now I wouldn't have given a free kick to Chelsea there. There simply wasn't enough contact between Jones and Cole to warrant the free kick, but IMO Jones's flailing was enough for the ref to rightly just ignore the whole incident and wave play on.
Have a look at the infamous dive done by Ronaldo at Stamford Bridge against Lampard. Now there is clearly no contact by Lampard on Ronaldo and that is cited as an example of a clear dive. But I look at the manner of how Lampard is running in to that challenge. I think Lampard goes into that challenge like he's going to do Ronaldo. Ronaldo sees the onrushing player about to clatter into him and adjusts. Lampard ends up stopping right before impact, Ronaldo goes down and everyone says blatant diver. So Ronaldo is guilty and Lampard is innocent. But I don't see innocence from Lampard, I see him making out he's going to do a player but stopping at the last moment.
Similar thing with Bale against Villa. Another *clear dive* to most people. But I see a keeper rushing out of the area and losing a foot race to get to the ball. The keeper knows he's not getting to the ball but cannot back out because if he does his team are probably conceding. So he leaves his foot in enough to make the speeding Bale think he's going to get clattered when running at full speed, but he knows not to actually make contact. He then sticks his hands up saying "Hey ref I never touched him" and everyone screams diver at Bale.
I don't know whether Cole, Ronaldo and Bale actually did dive or whether they were legitimately bracing for impact. Only they know. But I do know that the tacklers, like Britney Spears, are not that innocent either.
