There’s no doubt Eduardo is a very talented footballer. But who knew he was a talented diver? Olympian Greg Louganis would have quaked in his boots if he had to face Eduardo in competition. The Croatian international would have received a 10.0 from every single judge for his dive in the Champions League at the Emirates last night. I think we all agree there was miniscule contact between Eduardo and Art Boruc, the Celtic goalkeeper. It was no way a penalty.
Unfortunately, these things happen in football. And they will continue to happen unless instant replay is introduced for questionable activity inside the penalty area. If instant replay was in effect, the referee would probably have reversed his decision and it would have been a goal kick to Celtic. This rule and goal line technology could help ensure the right decisions are made and that fans won’t be left wondering or broken hearted.
Having said that, isn’t the broken heart and the wondering part of the game? Don’t we love to complain and evaluate it all? Don’t we love to count the injustices? The outrages decisions? Or are we starting to feel jaded from all that? Are we tired of the drama? Do we need change? Is the cost of losing too great?
We see these actions and decisions in the penalty area a lot throughout the season. Eduardo didn’t do anything new here people. Like many other players have done and will do, Eduardo seized an opportunity for his team and now everyone including me is labeling him a diver. I would like to go on record and say that I believe only on this occasion is Eduardo a diver. I watch a lot of Arsenal games and he doesn’t usually partake in the Hollywood theatrics.
So if we know Hollywood has crept into our game and players are taking advantage of potential penalty situations like Eduardo did, does that make it cheating?