How to stop divers like David Ngog in one fell swoop

By John Cross

Published 10:05 12/11/09

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There is one simple way to stop divers.

When managers see a player cheat they should drop them, fine them and send a strong message that it's unacceptable. That would stop it pretty damn quick.

Anyone and everyone who watched Liverpool's draw with Birmingham on Monday night knew that David Ngog took a dive to win a penalty which ultimately earned his team a draw and cost the visitors two points.

In fact, Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez went as close as any manager is ever likely to go to calling one of his own players a cheat.

Just look again at what Benitez said. "It was a pity to score from a penalty that maybe wasn't a penalty... I asked David and he said maybe it wasn't a penalty."

Shame then that Rafa went on to say that, while "it's important to be honest about these things", Liverpool deserved it because they were the better team in the first half.

Er, I'll go back and have a look at the laws of the game, Rafa, but I don't think there's anything in there saying if you play well then it entitles you to cheat.

Benitez would gain so much respect if he dropped Ngog for his dive. That would really help matters.

But if he doesn't, then next time Benitez is wronged by a decision from a referee he can have no complaints.

I was at the first game of the season when Tottenham beat Liverpool. Rafa was unhappy with Phil Dowd and even mockingly used his glasses to suggest in the post-match press conference that the referee needed spectacles.

Funnily enough, there was no laughing and joking this time. His player had conned the ref, got a penalty and his team got a point. Rafa didn't suggest the ref needed glasses this time. Meanwhile, referee Peter Walton gets axed.

Arsenal fans have been hammering websites and phone-ins to complain that Eduardo's alleged dive - he was later cleared by UEFA - against Celtic got far more coverage in the media.

Of course it did. UEFA actually did something about it. That's unprecedented and that's why it was newsworthy. It wasn't an anti-Arsenal agenda. It was an anti-diving agenda. After all, don't we all want cheats kicked out?

But I don't want the Ngog incident to be dropped either. I would like the debate to continue for days and weeks on end like it did with Eduardo. Let's keep it going until someone actually does something about it.

I defy any true Arsenal fan to say in their heart of hearts that they don't think Eduardo dived. The same goes for Liverpool fans and Ngog. Forget the excuses, do you really want a player, wearing your beloved shirt, to dive? I don't.

Shame on the players who cheat. But also shame on managers who whinge, complain and yet don't actually do anything when their players are at fault.

Benitez was happy to rant and rave when he felt Liverpool were wronged at Tottenham. But what will he do now his team have wronged Birmingham? Nothing. The double standards are frightening.

I feel sorry for referee Peter Walton. He made a mistake. A huge one. But that came from a player conning and cheating him. That's a disgrace. So, unless you do something about it Rafa, don't ever complain about referees again.

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