HUD v FOR

Bizarrely if he doesn't lift his foot, leaves out the obviously exaggerated dive and just runs straight on into the outstretched defender's foot, it's a nailed-on penalty. Hoist by his own petard

Quarryref said:

Bizarrely if he doesn't lift his foot, leaves out the obviously exaggerated dive and just runs straight on into the outstretched defender's foot, it's a nailed-on penalty. Hoist by his own petard

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Not the first time for Toffolo this season that he’s dived when he could’ve won a pen. In the playoff game against Luton first leg, he was clearly fouled in the box 10 seconds in. Rather than go down naturally he made a massive deal of it. The overreaction created doubt in that referees mind and when there’s doubt he’s not giving a pen 10 seconds in.

But at the top level you see players get rewarded for this more often than not. The example I use is Bernardo Silva vs Arsenal earlier this season. Silva has a little shirt pull in the box, he flings himself to the floor in a ridiculously exaggerated unnatural way, play carries on but VAR checks it and gives a pen.

There is no way that shirt pull caused Silva to fall to the ground, especially in the manner he did so. But at the same time, if he hadn’t have gone to the ground, he would never have got a VAR check and pen. As long as we keep rewarding players for going to the ground you can’t blame them for doing so

The other issue is players try and stay on their feet while being fouled in the area and no penalty is given. In my opinion referees are partly to blame for players over exaggerated falls in the areas.