Diving: A Red Card Offence?

                             Last weekend's events, most notably David Moyes's comments after Manchester United's home victory against Crystal Palace, has brought the topic of diving back into the public eye. So many players are accused of it, and there there are discussions in pubs up and down the land assessing what the appropriate penalty for divers is. The current system of a yellow card for 'simulation' is widely considered to be too lenient. However, is the answer really, as Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has suggested, a straight red card for diving offences? This post will look at the offence as it is currently defined, before examining the possible new punishments for the crime.

                               In order to fully understand the topic in question, it is worth consulting the FA definition of diving (or 'simulation'). Diving constitutes: 'an attempt by a player to gain an unfair advantage by diving to the ground and possibly feigning an injury, to appear as if a foul has been committed'. This seems relatively clear, and you would expect to see fairly regular punishments based on this definition. However, it proceeds to state that: 'a referee should be 100% certain that a player has simulated (feigned) an unfair challenge before cautioning the offender for unsporting behaviour. The referee must be convinced that there has been no physical contact whatsoever by the player challenging for the ball.' This is the cause of the controversy, as this clause means that referees tend to be overly lenient on simulation, not wanting to call a player a cheat, and this sometimes leads to miscarriages of justice when the referee gets it wrong. We will examine this in more detail later.

                                 Looking purely at the definition as it stands, we should perhaps compare it with other offences. By examining both those considered to be worthy of yellow and red cards, we will be able to see which category this offence more resembles. If we look at the options in both categories, I would say that 'unsporting conduct' would most easily be comparable from the yellow card section. The red card section does not appear to have an easily comparable alternative, with neither serious foul play, nor violent conduct accurately describing the act. If we run with the unsporting conduct offence, there are clear parallels between the pair. This indicates that perhaps the initial classification of diving as a yellow card carries weight.

                                 However, two alternatives have been suggested by prominent men in English football. We will begin by the suggestion made by Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish, that diving should constitute a straight-red card offence. Despite my above paragraph, there is evidence to suggest that this may be a possible alternative. Diving is a scourge in world football, and needs to be stamped out. If we look at another offence that has been 'stamped down upon', we find that racism has been much more heavily punished in recent years, in an attempt to eradicate it from the game. Now, I am not for one moment saying that diving is as bad as racism, however, I am merely making the point that if you want rid of an aspect from a game, you must penalise every instance heavily. Therefore, a case could certainly be made for the introduction of a heavy-handed penalty for diving, at least until the act is not so prominent. However, there are a couple of problems with this. Firstly, there will be the inevitable comparison between diving and the other red card offences, which illustrates the gap in severity. Simulation does not seem on the same page as intentionally breaking someone's leg, but, under this rule change, they would be considered equally severe. Secondly, there is a more pressing issue with the rules. As the current idea of diving is so open to interpretation, there are already many instances of referees making the wrong call. Under these new rules, a referee making the wrong call could irreparably change the outcome of the game, potentially ruining a team's season. Until we solidify what is considered a dive, I feel that a red card could not be awarded for the offence.

                                     The second alternative is one that appears far more reasonable. David Moyes, having stated that he wanted to stamp out diving from his own club, with Ashley Young coming in for further criticism, then suggested that video technology should be used to retrospectively ban players who have been proven to have dived. As much as that will be a dagger to the heart of Michel Platini, I think that this is an excellent idea. It lowers the fear of referee's getting a decision woefully wrong and costing a team a game in an instant, whilst ensuring that those guilty of diving are rightfully punished. I would introduce an initial ban of 4 games for a diving offence, meaning that there is that aspect of over the top punishment with a more accurate justice system, which I believe forms a nice middle ground. Once simulation has begun to die out of the game, a reduction in the ban could then be enacted. However, I suspect that none of these will be considered, players will be allowed to con referees and dive all over the place. This will continue to cause a horrible Catch 22 situation for referees, who will be blamed as much if they fail to penalise a dive, than if they wrongfully penalise one. And it will continue to be the topic of pub gossip for years to come.

Cardiff City: Bluebirds Paint The Premier League Red

2012/2013: 1st (Championship)

Player(s) In: Gary Medel (Sevilla, £11 Million), Steven Caulker (Tottenham, £8 Million), Andreas Cornelius (FC Copenhagen, £7.5 Million), Simon Moore (Brentford, Undisc), John Brayford (Derby County, £2 Million), Maximiliano Amondarain (Nacional Montevideo, Free), Kevin Theophile-Catherine (Rennes, £2.5 Million), Peter Odemwingie (West Bromwich Albion, £2.9 Million)

Player(s) Out: Heidar Helguson (Retired), Robbie Earnshaw (Released)

Transfers Review:

                                   As Cardiff did not participate in last year's Premier League, I do not have a season review to compare my predictions to, as I have done with my previous blog posts. However, Cardiff have been very active in this transfer window, particularly with incomings, which should give me plenty to talk about. Having repeatedly shattered their transfer record (firstly for Cornelius, then Caulker, and finally Medel), Cardiff have made their spending power abundantly clear to the rest of those hoping to avoid relegation. In Steven Caulker in particular, the Bluebirds have a player that has proven himself at Premier League level with Tottenham, and I believe will be a valuable member of the first team squad. The other big money signings will undoubtedly play a part, but I feel that they may take some time to bed into the squad and get used to the physicality of the Premier League. Cornelius looks a powerful centre-forward, and I think he will contribute with many of Cardiff's goals this season.

                                    Another pleasing aspect for Cardiff fans is that, as well as making several valuable additions to the squad, they have also managed to maintain the majority of their title-winning squad from last year. Of the playing squad, only Earnshaw and Helguson have departed, leaving a wealth of talent, many of whom will make the necessary step up from Championship to Premier League football. However, whether that will be sufficient to keep the Bluebirds in the top flight, only time will tell.

Pre-Season:

                                      With the prospect of being back in the Premier League after over a decade of absence, I would have expected Cardiff to play as many friendly matches as possible, in order to prepare their players, and to gel their new recruits. Malky Mackay obviously agreed with these sentiments, and scheduled 5 pre-season matches. Even more encouragingly for the Bluebirds, of those 5, they lost just one, and had two positive victories. Beginning with an enthralling 4-3 win over Forest Green, Cardiff then suffered two disappointing results as youth players were tested and the new signings were given time to bed into the squad. A 1-1 draw with Cheltenham was followed by a 3-2 defeat against Brentford. However, this would prove to be their last failure.

                                         August's two games would provide optimism for the Cardiff fans, suggesting that many of their players may have what it takes to make the step up to the Premier League. Firstly, a 1-0 win over Italian Serie A side Chievo Verona, where striker Kim Bo Kyung gave Malky Mackay's side a morale boosting win. Further was to follow, as Cardiff dispensed of La Liga side Athletic Bilbao. The Spanish side, who made the Europa League final 2 years ago, fell 2-0 down to goals from Whittingham and Campbell, before Iraola pulled on back. But the Bluebirds held on to record a morale boosting victory over a European-quality side. Performing in this manner on a regular basis will be the challenge for Mackay's side.

Key Players:

                                           If Cardiff are to succeed on their return to the Premier League, they will need their big players to perform for them on a regular basis. As I mentioned, of their new signings, Steven Caulker will provide the steel in the defence, and will be the basis for many of the clean sheets they keep. The ex-Tottenham man is also a danger from set pieces at the other end, and may well pop up with a goal or two to steer the Bluebirds away from trouble.

                                           Further forward, the passion and drive of their captain, hometown boy Craig Bellamy, will also be vital in ensuring they retain their Premier League status next year. His fiery nature tends to get him into trouble, but will also prove an inspiration to those around him, especially the younger players. He was the backbone of the Cardiff City Championship winning campaign last time around, and will be integral to any success the Bluebirds have this time around.

Key Fixture Dates:
(Based on derbies and who I consider to be their rivals)

14/09/2013: Hull vs Cardiff
26/10/2013: Norwich vs Cardiff
03/11/2013: Cardiff vs Swansea
04/12/2013: Stoke vs Cardiff
07/12/2013: Crystal Palace vs Cardiff
01/02/2014: Cardiff vs Norwich
08/02/2014: Swansea vs Cardiff
22/02/2014: Cardiff vs Hull
05/04/2014: Cardiff vs Crystal Palace
19/04/2014: Cardiff vs Stoke

Top Goalscorer:

                                            Unfortunately for Cardiff, whilst Craig Bellamy will provide you running all day long, and will lay on a hatful of chances, he is unlikely to be the man to stick them away. Peter Whittingham, at times prolific in the Championship, I feel will be unable to exploit the same amount of space a division above. This is why I feel the honour of top goalscorer will fall onto the shoulders of one of either Andreas Cornelius, Fraizer Campbell or Nicky Maynard. I'm going to go with Cornelius. His European experience, strength and power will be assets in this league, and after a settling in period, I do fancy him to start putting a few away. However, I would be surprised if he got into double figures in the league.

Prediction:

                                              With the money that their Malaysian owners have spent on players this summer, the expectation will very much be that the Bluebirds will escape the drop this time around. Unfortunately, with expectation comes pressure, a pressure not felt by many of their rivals. A team getting used to the transition to the Premier League does not need additional pressure heaped onto their shoulders. Ultimately, despite the emergence of a few Premier League class players, Cardiff's squad is not deep or experienced enough to survive this season. The English top flight may be 10% Welsh now, but I wonder how long that will be the case. I would be surprised if it were any longer than a year.

Cardiff City 2013/2014: 19th