Diving? Rules? What is the real problem?

So the diving issue is back, again..

I was moaning about it last week after Raheem Sterling's gold medal effort against Stoke last Sunday, where under the faintest of touches from Marc Wilson he threw himself to the floor... 

In my eyes, that's unacceptable because Sterling has deceived the referee, and although the resulting penalty didn't make a difference in the end, at that point in the game it mattered because all the support and momentum that was in Stoke's favour was shattered almost instantaneously, and we crumbled. 

Maybe that says something about us as a team, but it is still no excuse to act like that. And if the referee deemed it to be a foul, in that position a foul is either simulation or cynical, therefore Wilson should have received some sort of booking. Of course that didn't happen, which leaves me to conclude that the referee was unsure and gave the decision under pressure.

Now I understand - being a level 1 hockey umpire - that there is a lot that officials may miss, so I can sympathise with Jonathan Moss for being unsighted and thinking that Brad Guzan has fouled Luis Suarez, but I also have sympathy for Suarez.

Hypothetically, say he tried to stay on his feet, the penalty wasn't given, and Liverpool lost 2-1; people would question why the striker DIDN'T go down, and Brendan Rodgers would probably question it. In fact I think any striker would go down in that situation, not to cheat but because it's a perfectly legitimate thing to do because it is perfectly believable that an on-rushing keeper's momentum can take a striker out.

With that out of the way, this incident could also have sparked controversy if Guzan had got the ball, or cleared it, as well as taking Suarez out, and that is where the law is wrong. 

Why should it be a foul if the keeper is crazy enough to run out and take the ball from a striker's feet, as well as taking the striker out? There aren't many sports with a similar concept, but I can again relate back to hockey...

Quite often a keeper will come out to close the angle down, and sometimes will go to ground to block the ball, but take the forward out at the same time, and there is nothing wrong with doing it. 

I think the rule that makes such a case a foul should be scrapped because there is no reason for it to be a foul, as long as the keeper gets the ball, or clears it.. It is then more plainly black and white, so this debate wouldn't flare up so often, and referees and players can be spared some of the criticism they get.

So going back to the Suarez incident (against Villa, not one of his previous cases!), I don't think it's a dive, the Uruguayan has done what's expected of him, but in doing so the other side in the football story has complained. Like I said, it's a perfectly believable situation that most players wouldn't admit to doing themselves, but in reality would. 

A proper dive would be Suarez's impressive 9.3 at Anfield last season, against Stoke.

Just to finish, there are a lot of things that football can learn from other sports, and perhaps needs to, including stopping the watch for pauses instead of having 'injury time' and the introduction of a sin-bin, it just needs the right people to stand up and fight for it… Step forward Jerome Champagne!