The player in blue and red's raised arms and look at thereferee indicate a possible dive.
Inassociation football,diving is an attempt by a player to gain an unfair advantage by falling to the ground and, often, feigning injury to give the impression that afoul has been committed. Dives are often used to exaggerate the amount of contact made during achallenge. Deciding whether a player has dived is often very subjective and among the most controversial areas of football discussion. Motivations for diving include receiving scoring opportunities viafree kicks orpenalty kicks or gaining a team advantage by invoking apenalty card for the opposition. Diving may also be referred to assimulation (the term used byFIFA),Schwalbe (used in continental European countries; lit. German for "swallow"),staging (for free kicks) (Australia) andflopping (North American sports in general).
A 2009 study[1] found that there are recognisable traits that can often be observed when a player is diving. They are:
a separation in time between the impact and the simulation
a lack of ballistic continuity (the player moves farther than would be expected from the momentum of the tackle)
lack of contact consistency (the player nurses a body part other than where the impact occurred, such as contact to the chest causing the player to fly to the ground, holding their face)
the "Archer's bow" pose, where the head is tilted back, chest thrust forward, arms raised and both legs bent at the knee to lift both feet off the ground to the rear, is recognised as a characteristic sign of simulation, as the action is counter to normal reflex mechanisms to protect the body in a fall.[2]
Thegame's rules state that "attempts to deceive the referee by feigning injury or pretending to have been fouled (simulation)" must be sanctioned asunsporting behaviour which ismisconduct punishable by a yellow card.[3] The rule changes are in response to an increasing trend of diving and simulation.
In 2009,UEFA made the decision to banArsenal forwardEduardo da Silva for a dive during aChampions League qualifier againstCeltic.[4][5] Eduardo initially received a penalty after refereeManuel Mejuto González believed Eduardo had beenfouled by Celtic goalkeeperArtur Boruc, but video evidence suggested there was no contact between Eduardo and Boruc.[4] Eduardo scored the subsequent penalty, with the goal putting Arsenal 3–0 up onaggregate.[5] Arsenal managerArsène Wenger claimed the ban, which was to last two games,[5] was "a complete disgrace and unacceptable",[6] as it singled out Eduardo as a cheat, something which UEFA would be unable to prove.[6] The ban was subsequently overturned on appeal,[7] with Eduardo saying he was pleased UEFA had "arrived at the truth" as he was a "fair player" and was "not the type of player who needs to be dishonest".[8]
In 2011,Rangers playerSone Aluko was banned for two games for simulation by theScottish FA.[9] During a game againstDunfermline Athletic, Aluko won a penalty which was converted byNikica Jelavić and which proved to be the decisive goal.[10] Dunfermline managerJim McIntyre claimed it was "never a penalty" as there was no contact, and that Aluko was "obviously trying to get his team into a lead".[11] Former refereeKenny Clark said that, while there was contact, it was "not enough to cause a man to spill a pint in a pub far less to fall over".[9] After a club appeal had failed, Rangers managerAlly McCoist said he was "shocked and extremely angry" at the decision of the panel, which included former refereeJim McCluskey, who McCoist was critical of in particular, saying "his decision making hasn't improved any since he stopped refereeing".[12]
In England, starting in the summer of 2017, a three-man panel consisting of a former player, a former manager, and a former match official would independently reviewvideo evidence on the Monday after games. Any player whom the three-man panel unanimously decided had caused an opponent to be sent off or had won a penalty as a result of deceiving the referee by simulation would be charged bythe Football Association with "Successful Deception of a Match Official" which carried a penalty of suspension for two matches. If a player is found guilty of deceiving an official or admits to the charge, the yellow or red card given to the opposing player can be rescinded.[13][14][15] In November 2017,Bristol City playerBailey Wright became the first player to be banned two matches by theFootball Association for diving while playing againstFulham andAboubakar Kamara's red card was rescinded.[16][17] In November 2017,Everton playerOumar Niasse became the first top-flight player to be banned two matches by the FA for diving while playing againstCrystal Palace.[18][19] In February 2023,Tottenham Women'sEveliina Summanen became the first female top-flight player to be banned two matches by the FA for diving while playing againstManchester United Women, andElla Toone's red card was rescinded.[20]
Major League Soccer in the United States began implementing fines and suspensions for the2011 season for simulation through its Disciplinary Committee, which reviews plays after the match.
On 24 June 2011, MLS penalisedD.C. United forwardCharlie Davies with a US$1,000 fine as the Disciplinary Committee ruled he "intentionally deceived the officials and gained an unfair advantage which directly impacted the match" in a simulation that occurred in a match againstReal Salt Lake on 18 June 2011.[21]
On 29 July 2011, the Disciplinary Committee suspended Real Salt Lake forwardÁlvaro Saborío one game and fined him US$1,000 for a simulation in a game against theSan Jose Earthquakes on 23 July 2011. Officials noted the simulation resulted in Earthquakes defenderBobby Burling being sent off on the simulation, and the warning from MLS that fines and suspensions will increase for simulation being detected by the Disciplinary Committee.[22] Furthermore, suspensions caused by players being sent off by another player's simulation can be rescinded. For example, if A2 is assessed a red card for a foul when B3 had created a simulation to make it seem A2 committed a hard foul when it was a simulation, the Disciplinary Committee can rescind the red card and suspension for A2.
In all football leagues, including youth leagues, a player who dives intentionally will be subject to a warning or yellow card if caught in a match. If a match is reviewed and a player is caught, they may receive a one match suspension. In cases where this occurs a third time in a season, a five match suspension will be issued, or a suspension until the end of the current season, whichever is longer. The Oceania Football Confederation also has the right to ban players who intentionally dive to get a penalty or free kick. These rules are in effect for club and international matches.
In 2011, researchers studying signalling in animals examined diving in the context ofcommunication theory,[23] which suggests that deceptive behaviour should occur when the potential payoffs outweigh the potential costs (or punishments). Their aim was to discern when and where diving is likely to occur, with the aim of identifying ways to stop it.
The researchers watched hundreds of hours of matches across six European professional leagues and found that diving is more likely to occur a) near the offensive goal and b) when the match is tied. None of the 169 dives seen in the study were punished.
It was also found that diving was more common in leagues where it was rewarded most – meaning that the more often players were likely to get free kicks or penalties out of a dive, the more often they dived. This suggests that the benefits of diving are far outweighing the costs, and the only way to reduce diving in football is by increasing the ability of referees to detect dives and by increasing the punishment associated with them.
Dr. Robbie Wilson, a member of the group that conducted the study, said: "Some progressive professional leagues, such as the AustralianA-League and the American MLS have already started handing down punishments for players found guilty of diving. This is the best way to decrease the incentive for diving".[24]
Some have referred to simulation as a menace to footballers with real, sometimes life-threatening, injuries or conditions. On 24 May 2012, EnglishFA refereeHoward Webb spoke to a FIFA medical conference inBudapest about the importance of curbing simulation in football, as players feigning injury could put players with serious medical issues in jeopardy. Earlier that year, he had to deal with the collapse ofFabrice Muamba, who sufferedcardiac arrest during anFA Cup match.[25]
^Morris, Paul; Lewis, David (March 2010). "Tackling Diving: The Perception of Deceptive Intentions in Association football".Journal of Nonverbal Behavior.34 (1):1–13.doi:10.1007/s10919-009-0075-0.ISSN0191-5886.S2CID143324073.
David Luiz[75][29]
James Rodriguez[66][67]
Didier Drogba[35][29][30]
Mohamed Salah[57][58]
Ashley Young[29][30][59][60][61][62][63]
Jürgen Klinsmann[35][30][33]
Giorgos Karagounis[38][39]
Mehdi Taremi[72][73][74]
James McClean[68][69]
Filippo Inzaghi[42]
Cristiano Ronaldo[29][30]
Florin Tănase[26][27][28]
Sadio Mané[52]
Sergio Busquets[44][29][45]
Luis Suárez[30][29][36]
Gareth Bale[29][30]
Arjen Robben[35][30][33]