Tony Pulis wants FA to introduce three-game diving ban

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Stoke manager Tony Pulis

Stoke manager Tony Pulis wants the Football Association to ban players who dive for three matches.

On Thursday, he said: "The FA should pull people up for diving and give them a three-game ban straight away.

"Ivanovic would be looking at three games, Chelsea wouldn't be too happy with him and I don't think he would be diving around any more."

Chelsea were not awarded any penalties during the Premier League game at Stamford Bridge and Oscar was booked for diving, while Ivanovic escaped a yellow card despite going down in the box when he appeared not to be touched.

Pulis, whose defender Andy Wilkinson is serving a three-match suspension for a violent conduct, added: "They are really quick to pull people up on incidents that they think are bookable or sending-off incidents.

"We just don't think it's right and we encourage the players to be as honest as they can.

"Michael Kightly stayed on his feet [in a separate incident] and rightly so.

"We think it is the way to do it - whatever other clubs do, they do."

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  • What I would like to see is Match of the Day introducing a new feature, Dive of the Day, with a Dive of the Month final, winner gets a pair of Speedos, FA making winner wear them outside his shorts for the next month. Shame them into stopping this practice.

  • To all those having a go at Stoke and Pulis, it is a mans game right? It is still a contact sport? Diving and simulation is one of the worst things about the modern game. I watch a match, see a player roll around like they've been shot, flick over to a rugby match and watch the tackles getting thrown around there. Footballers at times are embarrassing.

  • I could'nt agree more, Divers are cheat and should be treated as such. If they want to take up diving try the aquatics.

  • I agree that we need to do something about players diving on the pitch, but to do that Refs need to start giving fouls when a player has stayed on his feet.

    If you know the ref isn't going to give you the freekick or the penalty because you've done the right thing and tried to stay on your feet then I'm sorry but we'll never stop players from going down.

  • He wants a three game ban for diving but when Crouch twice handballed before scoring against city he said "if he's got away with it then brilliant"

    So cheating is bad when its against your team but good when it goes in your favour

  • #267 totally agree with that sort of idea

    Every attempt to eliminate diving from the game should made, it would make football infinitely better.

  • I fully agree with Mr Pulis. Where evidence shows clear simulation a player should be banned for three matches. If that simulation effected the outcome of the game double it and make it six matches.

    Simulation is nothing new, David Speedie was a great exponent of it in the 1980's as was Mark Hughes. I am sure the current day Chelsea team include it in training sessions, and they are not alone

  • Agree with Tony Pulis. Also believe that a player should forego the right to a free kick or penalty if he doesn't do his best not to topple over like a sack of spuds.

  • 460.
    Rob
    I agree with Pulis. If it is clearly shown that players have attempted to con the ref then the FA should take action.
    ==
    Including when a player handles the ball unseen by the ref and cons the ref by keeping schtum? Or is that a different level of "ref conning" that can be ignored?

  • A simpler way to discourage diving would be for football TV shows to have a "dive of the week" feature, where the perpetrators are ridiculed mercilessly in multiple slow-mo replays to some silly music. Maybe extend it to a "diver of the season" competition, where the winner is presented with a pair of Tom Daley's spangly Speedos by his team mates.

  • Not often I agree with Pulis due to his aggressive take on the game both as a former player and a manager. However the blight of diving is ruining the game. The FA have a panel that reviews dangerous tackles, primarily for appeals against cards, why can't the same people also review dives and retrospectively ban players. Trouble is it is too obvious for the powers that run football sadly isn't it?

  • Introduce a citation system a la rugby league. Use retropesctive video evidence if someone is cited and then ban them.
    Football - a great sport ruined by many of the participants.

  • Refs can already dish out cards for 'unsporting behaviour' perhaps it is time The FA instructed them to start using the cards more often.

    And while they are at it, please tell Refs that handball can only be given when it is deliberate, too many pens given for no reason.

  • I don't think Alex Ferguson will approve this one.

  • Couldn't agree more. It's ruining football much more than bad goal-line decisions because it's actively cheating rather than human error. Faking injury to try to get opponents sent off is another problem. FIFA will never do anything though because the preoccupation with fair play is not international. What we call cheating is just considered part of the game in South America and parts of Europe.

  • There are sportsmen and then there are footballers. Until the players themselves accept some responsibility for what happens on the pitch, red cards, bans or anything else is unlikely to work and will only add to the general villification of the match officials.

  • Couldn't agree more with Mr Pulis.

  • Joe Bloggs, when he trips up himself or is tripped, will make every conceivable effort to remain on his feet. It's human nature. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING WORSE (bold Capitals) than the phrase "he WON a penalty." That makes it a contest. Disgusting. Players who writhe about like Salmon swimming up-stream and up-ladders when they go to ground deserve Bans and big fines.
    They are CHEATS

  • @587 - well said, all very annoying features of the modern game. I'm only 30 but I can still remember the days when it just didn't happen. Players would have been ridiculed for diving 20 years ago but its almost expected now.

    Whether Pulis is or isn't a hypocrit isn't the issue - he makes a good point about diving. Clamping down HARD in the short term will help stamp it out.

  • I think this attitude needs to go both ways, because cheating goes both ways. Stoke persistently foul and play dirty, and the reaction from some players is to dive. If Stoke themselves play within the rules more, then perhaps Pulis would have a better point, but to me this looks like him whining because teams have figured out his brutish tactics and simply 'simulate' to get decisions.

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