Official Premier League 2009/10 thread

[TheArsenal]

I agree something should be done about diving and "simulation" in general, but regardless of the team or player involved, I think UEFA are going too far in this instance.

If the referee had seen Eduardo's actions as a dive, he would have received a yellow card. So why when UEFA rules against the incident should the player receive a two game ban? Where's the consistency in that?

Also, in any other instance, when the referee sees an incident and makes a ruling on it, that's it. So if there's dangerous play and the referee either gives a yellow card instead of a red, or does nothing but mentions it in his referees report as having seen it then the governing body is powerless as the decision lies with the referee. Why now does UEFA have the power to overturn refereeing decisions? Ok, the referee got it wrong because the player dived, but why not award Crystal Palace a goal in their game against Bristol City, because the TV cameras clearly show the ball went in.

UEFA won't allow the introduction of goal-line technology or TV replays, but it is television, the media, and the very fact there were cameras showing every angle that has meant Eduardo has anything to answer for. Without TV replays, the incident is left as looking like Eduardo won a penalty. Yes, Eduadro cheated. Yes, diving has no place in football. But saying there's no place for TV replays, then using TV replays to condemn a player (guilty or not) is absolute hypocrisy.

[Darloboy]

So is this now going to be a global crackdown on diving, or is it just a one-off? I fully support retrospective banning of divers, but is this just going to be in the Champions League or can we look forward to seeing it in the Blue Square Premier too?

[stokeriño]

That would be up to the FA, of course. They don't necessarily need to follow UEFA's lead at all.

[Sam]

A crack down on diving has been needed for a number of years. I still think the yellow card for taking off your shirt rule is stupid and I think they should focus on aspects of the game that actually make the difference, i.e. diving, goal mouth technology.

[Dynamite]

I'm guessing it will be high-profile cases only. The vast majority of diving will still go unpunished or with a yellow card at best. Only if the incident is not seen and costs the other team the game will it probably be punished. I'm sure that if Eduardo had dived in a match against Stoke in the Premier League that the FA would never have banned him for 2 matches.

[IAceI]

It really depends on the player who dived, the teams involved, the opposing manager, whether they have fans in high places (Trevor Brooking e.g.) and what else happened on that day which will affect whether anyone will give a shite about a common occurance.

Come on - how do people not understand how these things work by now?

[Pesci]

Shocking decision to ban him. It's just to pander to the media who already think UEFA and Platini specifically are a useless bunch of twats.

[9 to 5]

Nah, we just think he is anti-English clubs. And he does seem to be.

[Sam]

Yeh when you take into account the worst he would have got is a yellow card then a 2 match suspension is over the top. Obviously they're making a point out of him but will Ronaldo get the same treatment when he undoubtedly dives trying to win a free kick or penalty this season?

[Dynamite]

I can see why Arsenal fans won't be happy with this. What UEFA really should have done if they wanted to stamp down on diving is come out and say "we are no longer going to tolerate it. From now on anyone who does it will recieve a ban/punishment etc." Banning him is so inconsistent with what they have done in the past and does seem unfair seeing as the punishment he would have got if he was caught by the ref would be at most a yellow card. You do have to give notice before you change the rules and use them to punish people who's acts have already been committed. With that said, I hope it does lead to a bit more of a crackdown of the problem.

[Scott McFly]

Yeh when you take into account the worst he would have got is a yellow card then a 2 match suspension is over the top. Obviously they're making a point out of him but will Ronaldo get the same treatment when he undoubtedly dives trying to win a free kick or penalty this season?

He isn't the first to be banned for diving, I believe the 2 match suspension is what is in the UEFA rulebook:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=464975&cc=5739

So if nothing else, a 2 match suspension would be consistent with that. I reckon if more opposition teams/FA heads speak up about it or submit a report to UEFA about it then there would be more done in terms of looking back and banning people. It's always been in the rulebook, it's just nobody's ever thought or been bothered to go to UEFA and say "can you look into such and such an incident, it's possibly breached rule X?". Hopefully now that will happen.

[IAceI]

If it had happened against a Turkish team, or a Romanian team, or a Slovenian team, would this have got nearly the same coverage? If it had happened the same day Man Utd had taken on a team in a similar match would it have turned heads? Not likely, the way I see it is that it was against Celtic and was on the same day as some 2nd Round Carling Cup matches. Oh and not to mention the culprit isn't English, so he needs strung up.

It's depressing really, that it's come as far as this and they're now going to ban him for two matches. Luckily they have an easy group, just have to hope their other players aren't injured come to the matches.

What happens when Player X dives against Arsenal in the Premiership and wins a free kick/penalty and nothing is done about it at a later date? Arsene may actually have a haemorrage.

[Pesci]

Nah, we just think he is anti-English clubs. And he does seem to be.

You're with the media?

EDIT: And I don't think anyone is disputing that it's in the rules. It's just the inconsisitency. They'll just punish certain cases to make the important people happy. Anything else is a yellow card or nothing at all.

Edited August 28, 2009 by Pesci

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

P.H.E.W.

[Scott McFly]

Nah, we just think he is anti-English clubs. And he does seem to be.

You're with the media?

EDIT: And I don't think anyone is disputing that it's in the rules. It's just the inconsisitency. They'll just punish certain cases to make the important people happy. Anything else is a yellow card or nothing at all.

It does look to be inconsistent, but it could be as simple as Celtic actually submitting a formal complaint to UEFA, citing whatever rule it is, rather than just moaning about it to the press or accusing the other team.

[Szumi]

Ouch. Arsenal is in firm control of this match, should've been up 2-0, and now down 1-2. Harsh.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Awesome game, I love our encounters with Arsenal.

Must say that Arsenal were the better team for most of that and we still looked shakey at the back without Ferdinand. The ending was just crazy. Certainly got to say that there's no way Wenger can complain about the penalty when his own player did ten times worst on Wednesday and he defended that one. Fantastic result when we didn't look anywhere near our best.

[therockbox]

Mike Dean is such a fussy, useless little cunt.

[Lord Nibbler]

Arsenal weren't good, but we were worse. We could have won 3-1 or 4-1 with those late Nani and Berbatov chances. If we'd played 4-4-2 from the start we probably would have done alot better.

Wenger's reaction to the offside equaliser, then getting sent off was hilarious. Someone needs to provide an animated gif.

[The Future]

Darren Fletcher is awesome, who would have thought he'd go on to be such a crucial player when he first started out here?.

Arsenal deserved something from this game, it was a lucky win but there were positives to take out. Fletcher was immense, A lot of space seemed to open up when Berbatov came on but shame he made a mess of his chance. Nani put in another okay performance and did well to cover for Evra..he'll get better with more games

Spurs and City up next. Both are crucial I can see us losing to Spurs but City is going to be a feisty encouner, lets hope United come out victorious.