Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has called for football chiefs to form a new review panel to combat diving once and for all. Incidents of simulation have plagued the game for many years, but have risen to the forefront in the English top fight over the past few seasons. The most recent scenes saw Chelsea scrape a 2-2 draw with West Brom after Brazilian midfielder Ramires looked to have dived in the box to win an injury-time penalty, which Eden Hazard coolly dispatched to earn a share of the spoils at Stamford Bridge. Baggies boss Steve Clarke called referee Andre Marriner’s decision to point to the spot ‘cruel’ after his side were seconds away from a memorable win. The FA have just introduced new terms that allow a panel of professionals to review dangerous incidents seen in games and dish out fines and match-bans. And Halsey, who came to Marriner’s defence, believes the football powers-that-be should implement a similar scheme that ensures serial divers no longer escape punishment. “I’d love to see something come in, you see it in Scotland and Italy,” Halsey told the Press Pass. “I think there should be a panel on a Monday morning that looks at these situations, and if players are found to be guilty they receive a two-match ban. “That is the only way we are going to stamp this out. “It’s not fair that Andre Marriner receives the criticism for giving that penalty, it’s Ramires who should be criticised, not Andre. “You can’t blame the referee because he gets that split second to decide,” he added. “There was contact, and when he saw the incident he saw that, but it was Ramires who initiated it. “Andre will be looking at that now and will be mortified, it’s happened to me and it happens to every referee.” #SMS
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 22:10:51 +0000
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