Premier League - Did Johnson dive for penalties?

It is very difficult for­ referees as they only have­ one chance to see the­ incident -- DR

but that­ doesnt excuse incorrect punishments dished out for­ fouls awarded ..

e. @#$% g. figueroa hand ball, goal­ scoring opportunity --RED @#$% CARD

glen johnson , 2­ footed out of control lung on Lescott -- RED @#$%­ CARD

Why can you not see these obvious examples of­ corruption within the Refs and FA???

Arguing as to wether or not either was a deliberate­ dive or a penalty is irrelevant. The games have been­ completed so whatever we feel, wether we agree or­ disagree on the merits of each has no relevance the­ penalties were awarded one game was one because of it­ and the other drawn. That is the past now we look­ forward to this weeks games.

It is very difficult for­ referees as they only have one chance to see the­ incident whilst we at home can watch it over and over­ again and still argue the toss dependng it would seem­ on which side we happen to follow. No one is perfect­ and we all make mistakes some dubious penalties are­ given and more obvious ones are not, thats the game and­ has been the same for a long long time. No referee­ is biased and none receive mythical brown envelopes,­ that is just sour grapes

too much money in the game, it's no longer a sport­ it is big busines, win at all cost, these moves are­ probably well rehersed and planed, the name of the game­ is con the reff, it's worth thousands in bonuses,­ it is becoming like profesionsl wrestling a farce, why­ people want to pay to watch this sort of rubbiish­ heaven only knows, if you want to watch a game go to­ your local park and watch the kids play for the fun of­ it.

For God's own sake, why are we even debating this­ yahoo??, i can't find any other debate on other­ team's pages about "diving", yet look at­ United second "penalty" against Chelsea, they­ were robbed, is it because Johnson plays for Manchester­ City by any chance?, i'm never condoning cheating­ but players go over in the box EVERY DAY from­ non-league to EPL, please let's not waste anymore­ time reporting such utter tripe. ( Love from a­ non-biased Man City supporter )

chris #205...i've replyed wellbeck's incidence­ with some other analysts and truth be told his incident­ and that of adam johnson r the same. ivanovic had­ planted his leg adnd it came to a dead stop as wellbeck­ passed him, then wellbeck actually stretches back his­ left leg to make contact with the calf and ankle area­ of invanovic...in short he's also a cheat. the­ refs in both games were poor and its pointless for­ lovers of the beautiful game to condone such behaviour­ from professional players, its really a shame what­ level they have stooped to....ynwa

chris #205...i've replyed wellbeck's incidence­ with some other analysts and truth be told his incident­ and that of adam johnson r the same. ivanovic had­ planted his leg adnd it came to a dead stop as wellbeck­ passed him, then wellbeck actually stretches back his­ left leg to make contact with the calf and ankle area­ of invanovic...in short he's also a cheat. the­ refs in both games were poor and its pointless for­ lovers of the beautiful game to condone such behaviour­ from professional players, its really a shame what­ level they have stooped to....ynwa

Johnson himself said he felt there was some contact so­ he went to ground. Therefore if it was not the actual­ contact which CAUSED him to fall but simply that he­ felt there had been some sort of contact and so he went­ to ground, then he has dived.
ANY player who­ deliberately falls just because he feels there has been­ contact and NOT because the contact has actually caused­ him to fall should be yellow carded for trying to cheat­ the referee. Isn't the Ungentlemanly Conduct Rule­ still in effect?

CONCERNED sorry but wellbeck did not kick out like­ johnson as johnson actually tried to fool the ref­ wellbck was brought down by a clumsy challenge­ ,,,football is all about cheating now anyway and­ supporting racist players

Ok so most fair minded people have said yes he was­ diving. Many other pointed out that other teams do it­ too. Lots of people brought up Franny Lee to argue that­ diving (cheating) has always been around. To a­ certain extent diving has gone on in the past but not­ the way it is going on at present. Hardly a game goes­ by without some accusations about cheating. So what can­ be done about it? I don't want our game to be­ stopped every few minutes while a 4th official reviews­ the incident, it would slow the game down too much. ­

Being a bit radical here but the FA, the PFA and the­ PL are supposed to be the leading lights in the game,­ should we not expect some leadership to be shown from­ these bodies.

I feel so sorry for the referees, they­ get a fraction of a second to make a decision. With so­ many cheats on the pitch it is easy for them to be­ fooled into making a wrong decision.

I would suggest a­ panel of ex-players, ex-managers, ex-referees and­ anyone else with the best interests of football to look­ at some of these decisions. When cheats are clearly­ identified punishments should be handed out. The­ punishments should involve the player involved ( a ban­ and a substantial fine) and also the club for not­ controlling its players (a substantial fine). If a­ dubious penalty resulted in a goal then the result­ should be amended to negate that­ "goal".

Other options could be that the club­ start their next game a goal down. Persistent­ offenders receive bans that are longer, 1st offence 3­ game ban, 2nd offence 6 game ban, 3rd offence 12 game­ bans with rising levels of fines to match etc. Clubs­ that have repeat offenders and lots of offenders should­ be hit in their pockets, made to play in front of­ opposing fans only at home games may be an option that­ would hit them where it hurts. If a club persistently­ offends in one season, maybe a deduction of points in­ the next season.

Something has to be done these cheats­ are ruining our game. Sorry about

He did.

Who cares?

Definite dive

it`s part of any sport now ,,,it`s called CHEATING.....

Simple answer, too right he did, and he knows it.

but­ so does half the forwards in the P.L.......its how the­ game is going these days...sad but­ true.

red tube , pandora , ­ limewire

I note that the rating about my comment (156) of the 2­ United penalties must have come from Chlsea­ supporters?.
Watch the film again and then if you are­ still of the same opinion go to Spec Savers and have­ you eyes tested.Better still go to the chemist and buy­ a white stick.

yep he just leaped on the ground no one touched­ him,hang the s.c.u.m

Yes he did he kicked out at the defender and then threw­ himself to the floor and so did Wellbeck on sunday both­ of the were better divers than tom bailey. It is sad­ that cheating is now the acceptable face of sport.

Not entirely sure how people think this is a deliberate­ dive. Its one thing deliberatly trying to make contact­ with a player and take advantage of the refs position­ to try and win yourself a penatly, but you can clearly­ see that he tries to make a quick turn and step in­ between the two defenders and he and the defender on­ the right manage to hook their feet, the defender then­ pulls his leg up and he goes over. Quite obvious to me­ its not a dive.

Well, it looks like he was diving but he wasn't­ trust me.
Anyways its all the referees decision.

There are many forwards who create a situation where­ they make contact with an opposition player either in­ or outside the box. I was sad enough to do the same­ when I was a player and all you have to do is change­ direction quickly into the area where you know the­ defenders leg will most likely make contact. The only­ answer is to have the same system as in cricket where a­ tv replay could be called for just to confirm a penalty­ or not.