Season 2019-20 Opinion Talking Points
Think back to the outcry as a result of Oumar Niasse on Saturday 18 November 2017 versus Crystal Palace (Away).
Niasse sparked controversy in the match by appearing to dive to win Everton a penalty, which was converted by Leighton Baines to make the score 1–1 in the first half. He subsequently became the first Premier League player to be charged with “successful deception of a match official” under The Football Association’s new regulations and received a two-match suspension.
My first thoughts were the FA were looking for a scapegoat for the increase in players diving or going down to the ground with the slightest touch. After the decision with Walcott versus Brighton, would Walcott have committed a similar offence if he had actually gone down?
We are now over two years past Niasse’s “deception” but we keep seeing players committing fraudulent falls with hardly a yellow card being brandished let alone a deception charge being brought afterwards. Perhaps, after the FA exonerated Michael Keane at Brighton, Aaron Connolly the Brighton player should have been charged with deception!
We have seen no further “deceptions” being punished after the media onslaught against Niasse. Why have the FA gone quiet?
A few years ago, Kuyt of Liverpool launched a nasty two-footed tackle against Phil Neville and failed! However, the referee Clattenberg failed to apply the law of intent to Kuyt’s actions.
So are we to believe only successful deception and on-field violence are to be punished? Any donkey going down to claim a penalty is not guilty of any offence unless it would win an Oscar award for acting. Perhaps, Oumar Niasse should receive a Bafta award for his so-called acting skills. It seems clear that the logic suggests that not one player since has set out to deceive a referee again!
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Posted
13/01/2020 at
22:47:14
Trevor, the way I see it is this. At the time of the Niasse incident, it was seen as deceiving, or cheating the referee, to win a penalty, which was converted, and therefore we “gained an advantage” as a result, i.e scoring the penalty. I’m not sure, if Baines had missed the penalty then Niasse wouldn’t have received his ban. As there was no VAR then, obviously no check could be made. Had VAR been in existance, the penalty would probably have not been given and Niasse would have been booked for diving, and again, would not have faced any further punishment.
That’s why, I think we will never see the likes of a retrospective ban again for diving. VAR will decide there and then if a penalty is the correct decision (haha) or not. I think Niasse has his own little piece of premier league history here, the only player to receive a retrospective ban for diving.