Kieran Trippier has been called a hypocrite by Espanyol captain Leandro Cabrera.
Trippier recently spoke to BBC Sport about his time in Spain, and has commented on some of his teammates diving in training.
“In training it was frustrating at times because some of the boys were diving and it did my head in, but you get used to it. It can be frustrating but it is the way they have been brought up and the way they play. Getting in each other’s faces and sprinting to the referee. I am not that type of player to do it in games, but it is what it is.”
Cabrera has hit back at Trippier, claiming the Newcastle defender isn’t one to be making comments about diving.
“In the 2019 Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham it looked like there was a sniper in the stands. You don’t have to be hypocrites, when you have to win, you do whatever it takes to win,” Cabrera told Cadena SER.
Some see diving as cheating, whereas others think it’s sometimes necessary, and it’s simply doing everything possible to win a game of football.