Well spoken Pochettino!
The hypocrisy about ‘diving’ among politically correct football fans is quite appalling, and I have for quite a long time held the views that our manager has now publicly expressed. It seems that some of us would sooner accept a leg-breaking tackle from an ‘honest no-nonsense’ defender than Dele Alli going over when tackled.
What about the sides who take forever over throw-ins and substitutions when they have a narrow lead? That is cheating as much as any other aspect of the game, but the focus is on ‘diving’ and woe betide any player who gains a reputation as a diver. Saint Gary has come out against our Mo, talking about how diving will eventually ruin the game. Well, it hasn’t ruined football yet and it has certainly been happening for as long as the beautiful game has been played.
It was an Italian captain – I forget which one – who said some years ago that football is a game of deception, and as much as deceiving your opponents, it includes deceiving the referee, if possible.
Of course, I greatly enjoy moments of sportsmanship – Paolo di Canio refusing to score for West Ham past an injured goalkeeper, for instance – but tricking an opponent and even a referee certainly does not imply a lack of sportsmanship.
I also fully agree with Mauricio that VAR does not improve the game. In fact, my first experience of the system was that it could just be what ends my 50-year interest in the beloved game. What a loss that would be to me. Football allows me to escape all the crappy nonsense of the world, for something that really matters.
Some people have explained Mauricio’s attitude to diving as, to paraphrase, typical of an Argentinian! That is simply uncalled for and out of order. So the jingoists are siding with the hypocrites!
Let’s not ruin the great gift of football with an approach that is politically correct. I believe, Saint Gary, that that is what we are doing.
Shannon
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