An idea so bad even Sepp Blatter finds it ridiculous!

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“[Often] a guy fakes an injury, and he acts as if it’s the end of the world, and then after you give him the foul he then flies up and kicks the ball.

“That guy should be sent off, and he should be sent off for five minutes.” (Jack Warner FIFA Vice President)

Jack Warner is a strange character, one who has been accused of various corruption charges, and this latest suggestion just smacks of real stupidity. Anyone who states that ‘Sin Bin’s work in Rugby’ is missing the point. How would this work? Presumably the decision on whether a player simulates will either rest with the referee or a fourth official, and given that referee’s far too rarely dish out cautions for the offence then they are even less likely to send them off for a few minutes for the same offence.

It is very simple to resolve the diving issue. It should be done retroactively, with a panel adjudicating on offences and handing out bans on the basis of either repeated offences or singular offences that warrant a ban in their own right. I am against any stoppages within the game itself as this will simply serve to slow the game down and before you know it we will have a game as stop/start at NFL or NBA.

People are also more likely to be able to judge simulation when viewed with hindsight without having to make a split second judgement. Pretty soon when players start being banned for a few games they will learn to cut out the swan dives. UEFA was on the right path when they issued the ban for Eduardo for his ludicrous tumble against Celtic, and whilst yes he isn’t a repeat offender, this incident and the resultant punishment (albeit successfully appealed against) is the right mode to deal with this most irritating of offences.


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