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| The moves by A-League officials have received tentative support from fans [GALLO/GETTY[ |
Australia's A-League have made significant moves to penalise intentional diving, introducing post-match video evidence to suspend players who dive.
A week away from the start of the A-League season, officials announced they will crack down on those players who are caught "in the act of simulation'' to win penalties or have opponents cautioned or sent off.
Players guilty of diving will be suspended for up to two weeks.
Fair play
Australia's rugby codes and Australian Rules commonly use post-match video reviews to cite players for foul play, but the major football leagues of Europe have shied away from using such technology.
"Everyone - fans, players and media - believe that simulation is unacceptable, and I am sure this change will be appreciated by the whole football community,'' FFA chief executive Ben Buckley said in a statement.
If a player is sent off as a result of an opponent's simulation, he will be able to have his red card rescinded.
The A-League said it becomes only the second competition in the world after the Scottish Premier League to introduce the sanctions.
"The chance of being banned for two games is a pretty strong message,'' A-League chief Archie Fraser told Australian daily the Sydney Morning Herald.
"If you're prepared to take the risk, you're probably going to miss a decent chunk of
the season.''
Tough ask
Former Sydney coach John Kosmina supported the change, but wasn't sure how effective it would be.
"This will influence player behaviour, but I'm not so sure it will change it,'' Kosmina told the Herald.
"The fact is simulation has been around for ages, players have been milking penalties forever, and some of them have turned it into an art form.
"But it's something nobody wants in the game, so if this makes the players think twice, then I'm all for it.''
Kosmina, however, said he wasn't sure how the changes would affect referees.
"Are the referees going to be reluctant to give penalties because they don't want to be sucked in by the divers?'' he said.
"To the trained eye, simulation is obvious, so if they miss it, and the player gets banned because of the video footage, are they going to be embarrassed by that?
"It's going to be interesting to see how they (referees) react.''
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