The Rational Ref | Naming and shaming Premier League players will curb scourge of cheating
FA must use retrospective video evidence to rid this appalling dishonesty from the game
All players are cheats. Some are born cheats, some achieve greatness in cheating and some have this dreadful affliction thrust upon them.
The definition of cheating is "to act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game or examination".
Truth be told, every seasoned player cheats and acts dishonestly. Even so, it is extraordinary just how much cheating goes on in the game.
From straightforward ball out of play when players claim it is their ball, to deliberately handling the ball (recall Thierry Henry getting France into the 2010 World Cup and Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" that helped Argentina win the 1986 World Cup), to the present fashionable event of diving, the overriding aim is to always gain an advantage by hook or by crook.
Diving, or simulation as it is formally labelled by match officials, has reared its ugly head again in the EPL. It will continue unless there is a suitable deterrent to rid this appalling dishonesty from the game.
It was not only Manchester United's serial diver, Ashley Young, who was guilty. Captain Patrice Evra tried to con the referee, too, by falling too easily in the box. Referee Jon Moss ignored Evra's theatrics, but cautioned Young for simulation.