Football managers don’t tell the truth. They say what suits their own ambitions and interests, as for Jose Mourinho and Chelsea, obviously, the issue of diving is something they’re trying to conceal, although the evidence from players like Oscar and Ramires this season point otherwise.
Ramires was booked for diving in the FA Cup win over Derby County and rightfully so. This follows an embarrassing Oscar dive in the previous league match against Southampton which was caught by the referee, booking the Brazilian. A dive that wasn’t called by the refs was the one by Ramires in the 2-2 draw with West Brom, as the Brazilian made an acrobatic leap in the box in order to save his team from a home loss.
Jose Mourinho? He doesn’t think there’s a diving problem with his team. Where is the problem in his opinion? Referees being too good and observant in his matches, and not so much in other contests. It’s hard to believe someone is actually making these claims, but nothing it too ridiculous with Mourinho.
I’ve not spoken with Ramires yet, but I will, and remind him what we think. If Marriner is so close and makes that decision, it’s because he is right, perfect. But let’s do it every game, every stadium, every player, let’s do that. I maintain there are no divers at Chelsea. I maintain it. In isolated cases, the referees attack it, the manager supports the referee, so I think we are doing well. Now let’s see if the others do the same as us.
You will see when Oscar dives again or when Ramires does in the same situation. Let’s see when that is. We had two of the best referees, Atkinsion and Marriner, in these two games. In other clubs there are real divers who are not booked. If you want to look at players that are doing that every weekend, it’s very easy to do it. Sit in front of the television every weekend and you will find them.
Mourinho forgets that Adnan Januzaj is already one of the most booked players in Premier League history for simulation, and he’s still a teenager. He forgets about Luis Suarez and Liverpool suffering from the Uruguayan’s past and reputation, missing out on easy penalty calls even when they happen right in front of the referee. He tends to forget a lot of things.
Is there a diving epidemic at Chelsea? Probably not, but just like Manchester United, there are two or three players with a tendency to easily fall to the ground. There’s also a manager who despite everything he says to the media, has no intention of stopping them from doing so if he knows it eventually will bring him the results he wants.