The process of educating the 46 referees shortlisted to officiate at the finals began at a workshop in Frankfurt 12 months ago, but it will continue with a second seminar in Germany in the coming weeks. The Fifa referees’ committee will impress on officials the importance of punishing “any simulating action anywhere on the field which is intended to deceive the referee” with a yellow card, but it is not thought that any new sanctions will be introduced by the International Football Associations Board in time for this summer’s tournament.
Andreas Herren, the Fifa media officer, defended his organisation from accusations that it is not doing enough to eradicate the problem. “It must start with the players,” he said. “Fair play is about respecting your opponents, the referee and the officials and also the laws of the game.
“The law changes made in 1999 addressed not only diving but gamesmanship and all kinds of cheating. These rules will be instilled specifically on the referees before the World Cup. We will ensure there is a uniform approach for every referee.
“The referees who are selected for the World Cup will also have a full debriefing every day. They will look at all kinds of situations, from all games. The laws of the game are very clear and the referees have a much larger remit.”
The 1999 laws have not always been considered adequate by Fifa officials. Four years ago, Michel Zen Ruffinen, who was the general secretary of Fifa at the time, addressed a seminar of officials preparing for the World Cup in Japan and South Korea: “Simulation is cheating, whether it is diving or rolling around pretending to be hurt when you haven’t been touched,” he said. “It is our main priority.”
Yesterday, Fifa declined to back The Times’s campaign outright and defended Blatter’s right to remain silent on the issue, but Uefa happily threw its weight behind the campaign.
“Diving is cheating,” William Gaillard, the Uefa director of communications, said. “It is not something we would ever condone and we absolutely back such a campaign. The laws of football are governed by Fifa, but stopping diving is part of our own fair-play campaign.”
The Government is also backing the campaign, adding further authority to the demand to eliminate cheating from the game. Richard Caborn, the Sports Minister, said that he was “fully behind” the campaign, which has been applauded by all sections of the national game.
Caborn said: “From Sunday league to Premier League, it is time to kick diving out of the game for good. It gives football and footballers a bad name. It sets a poor example for children.
“There is no better way to kick out the cheats than by creating a climate of intolerance that shames divers out of the game. Let’s relegate diving back to the swimming pool, where it belongs.”
During almost five years as Sports Minister, Caborn has emphasised the importance of sportsmanship and fair play as the Government has sought to have more people taking exercise and participating in sport. He and Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media an7d Sport, have driven through initiatives to continue the revival of sport in schools.
They have been concerned that this revival should be accompanied by good conduct on and off the field of play, worried about the effect that misbehaviour by leading sports stars can have on impressionable youngsters, who will often copy their idols.
IN THE CLUB
The clubs below that have said yes have said yes in principle, ie, they are happy for us to send them the posters and if they like the look of them they will put them up around the grounds, training grounds, dressing-rooms etc
YES
Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic, Everton, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion, Wigan Athletic
NO
Arsenal, Manchester United — only if sanctioned by FA Premier League, Aston Villa — only if sanctioned by the FA Premier League, Manchester City — “not interested”
WAITING FOR REPLY
Chelsea, Fulham, West Ham United
Supporters say no to diving
The drive to rid football of cheats has touched a raw nerve with Times readers. Below is a selection of their responses to the campaign against diving.
Apart from fines and bans, the FA could indulge in a little character assassination. Monthly competitions could be held for the most blatant dive. Marks would be given for positioning of limbs during flight, facial expression and number of rolls the player achieves when he hits the ground.
Gavin Whitworth, York
Diving is not part of the game, as some would protest. It has been allowed to become one by lack of proper disciplinary action. When you stop playing the game and start acting, it is time to go. If you dive you should be sent off.
Gary Schmidt, Webster Groves, United States
How about the deduction of points such as a point for every dive? The effort to cheat should be rewarded accordingly.
Robert Lindsay, Barnet
The simple solution is zero tolerance. Any suspect dive to be reported by the referee to a TV judge for a decision. Guilty players to be shown a red card. Perhaps clubs would dock their wages too. Diving would cease in less than one month from the adoption of such a scheme.
Geoffrey Simpson, Fowe
Fifa has to swallow its pride and take lessons from other sports. If they are worried about slowing the game down with video replays (rugby union), take the pressure off the ref and allow him to mark any suspect incident as “on report” (rugby league). A panel can then decide with the benefit of whatever replays are available whether to subsequently punish the tackler or diver.
Rob Hannah, Grimsby
- You’ve wasted your breath berating the referee, now do something about it. Send us tales of the most blatant dives you’ve seen — and report the culprits, plus print your own poster and the Times campaign in full www.timesonline.co.uk/nodiving
