What I learned this weekend is that if your English its OK to dive and con the ref.
Exactly. I said a couple of times how Rooney is one of the major divers in the modern game, now it seems Welbeck is learning it well! Ashley Young is another master of this art. There's also an extensive Steven Gerrard collection of simulation.
We also had Adam Johnson against Fulham, that was ridiculous!
It's amazing how commentators and pundits refrain from saying anything during the match, even after several replays. And even then on MOTD or other programs, they will give this cheating scum the benefit of the doubt!
But try and do the same if you are a foreigner... Just compare to the amount of stick that the likes of Torres, Suarez, or Nani get for doing the same thing, sometimes even less.
I still remember to this day all the repercussion Eduardo got for a dive against Celtic. He was even handed a 3-match ban (for a dive! I've never seen this...)
Sky Sports were running their media campaign against him and he was labelled a diver for the rest of his career in England. Back then he got much more criticised than the guy who had previously destroyed his leg.
English thugs can get away with violence apparently too. That guy Taylor, and then Shawcross, who broke Ramsey's leg, were all easily let off the hook by Sky Sports pundits, who said they're not "that kind of player". But God forbid a foreigner does something to an English player. Recently Balotelli accidentally stepped on Parker's head, and you get those geezers at Sky Sports almost calling for his head! Electric chair for Super Mario!
Another thing that Gerd remembered the other day: the difference in treatment for Terry and Suarez in racism cases. Media coverage was different and so was the treatment given by authorities. Terry had his trial postponed until after the Euro, while Suarez gets an 8-match ban?!
This is a huge issue in English football currently IMO. The protection and different treatment given by refs, FA and media to English players. There's definitely a certain degree of xenophobia going on in the sport in this country.