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Is Diving Now A Legitimate Skill?

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Diving is cheating; simple as that. It should have no part in any of our games. The problem is the ref is the one that gets all the flak if he gives the free while the player gets the plaudits for 'winning' the free. The Kerry Tyrone qualifier down in Killarney in 2012 was one of the worst games for diving I've ever seen for diving. But all teams are at it now. avonali (Dublin) - Posts: 1991 - 04/07/2023 15:18:55 2492183 Link
Replying To avonali: "Diving is cheating; simple as that. It should have no part in any of our games. The problem is the ref is the one that gets all the flak if he gives the free while the player gets the plaudits for 'winning' the free. The Kerry Tyrone qualifier down in Killarney in 2012 was one of the worst games for diving I've ever seen for diving. But all teams are at it now." It's a 32 county thing so don't pick out Tyrone or Kerry. Dublin man bring Tyrone and Kerry into his arguments when glass houses spring to mind. I know reading some of your comments that you've a grudge against all things that aren't Dublin. I'm sure Dublin got some handy frees on their unbeaten run of All Irelands. Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2291 - 04/07/2023 20:13:22 2492282 Link
This game of football has evolved so much in latter years with speed, fitness and skill that an old timer like me finds it hard to keep track of what's going on. But even I can see the skill with which some players can "win" frees. I'd hate to be a referee in todays game. From time to time they (refs) have howlers but by and large those incidences balance out imo. It's also true that we can see the "others" diving and cheating - rarely our own. The answer to the question set out is, yes, diving and cheating to win frees is now part and parcel. Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 1615 - 04/07/2023 21:03:56 2492289 Link
Replying To Saynothing: "It's a 32 county thing so don't pick out Tyrone or Kerry. Dublin man bring Tyrone and Kerry into his arguments when glass houses spring to mind. I know reading some of your comments that you've a grudge against all things that aren't Dublin. I'm sure Dublin got some handy frees on their unbeaten run of All Irelands." Did you read my last sentence? All teams are at it now. Maybe you should "saynothing" until you read the entire post You are obviously reading very selectively. I have recently expressed admiration fo the skills of players from several different counties including Kerry. Of course Dublin got some handy frees- no denying that. avonali (Dublin) - Posts: 1991 - 05/07/2023 11:51:24 2492378 Link
Replying To Saynothing: "It's a 32 county thing so don't pick out Tyrone or Kerry. Dublin man bring Tyrone and Kerry into his arguments when glass houses spring to mind. I know reading some of your comments that you've a grudge against all things that aren't Dublin. I'm sure Dublin got some handy frees on their unbeaten run of All Irelands." P.S. A couple of Dublin posters had a go at me for praising both of the Cliffords - would someone with a grudge against all things that are not Dublin elicit that kind of response???? avonali (Dublin) - Posts: 1991 - 05/07/2023 12:16:54 2492384 Link
Replying To countyman2022: "You should watch the Clare hurlers. Their are leading the way in it for the past two seasons!" Yes, they're quite good at it now alright. But remember diving and all this falling around the place dead has its roots in the Cork hurling teams circa 1999-2005. It was a prominent feature of their 'tippy-tappy' unmanly style of hurling. foreveryoung (USA) - Posts: 2219 - 05/07/2023 20:27:43 2492531 Link
Tomsmith here from Coounty Cavan Yes diving is an art and any of you that are ols enough to remember a noted Monagha forward named Naudie Hughes. Naudie who was a small person perfected the art of stooping down as the corner back approached at speed , he would get his free in . Some people would say that if he saw a raw Gausoon wearing the number 4 shirt , he knew the game was worth 5 or 6 points to him. There was another Boyo down in Kerry who was a past master in buying frees. Ough he was terrible , every Referee got fooled by him. But then take Seamus Darbys Offaly who scored that great Goal against Kerry sure some would say it should have been afree out tomsmith (Cavan) - Posts: 4033 - 08/07/2023 16:56:05 2493143 Link
Replying To foreveryoung: "Yes, they're quite good at it now alright. But remember diving and all this falling around the place dead has its roots in the Cork hurling teams circa 1999-2005. It was a prominent feature of their 'tippy-tappy' unmanly style of hurling." I agree this year there's been quite a bit of diving from Clare and its not just from one or two player. Hopefully they get on with the game tomorrow and forget about that nonsense TomWex (Wexford) - Posts: 85 - 08/07/2023 17:16:38 2493149 Link
Replying To RoverTin: "What a load of nonsense. It's not specific to one county or individuals Your own Conor McManus has mastered the art. He fell over when he was barely touched for the equaliser against Armagh." Have you watched the slowmo? Two hands on his hips, his ankle stood on and then clipped - he got the ball and drove at the man at an angle that the man only had two options; he could let Conor go on and take a shot at goal from play or he could foul him. There is no legal way to tackle a man from behind who's running across your path, you have to ceed the ground or it's a foul. McManus is long enough on the tooth to know this and he executed this maneuver with ruthless precision when it mattered most - simple as. This is why he's a cut above. Besides, Armagh fould Gary mohan off the ball right in front of the referee about 8 seconds before the free was given. The ref bottled it and as a result couldn't bottle the mcmanus one. He should have moved the free up from the kick out Monaghan won for TWO Armagh men laying on the Monaghan man trying to quickly counter attack. If he had of moved it up it was well within Beggans range. So three stonewall scoring opportunities were denied to Monaghan, the last one was McManus being illegal prevented from progressing to goal - and a free was given. A lot can happen in 60 seconds Jjoniel79 (Monaghan) - Posts: 199 - 08/07/2023 17:47:52 2493153 Link
Replying To Neartheborder: "Jelly legs Mc Manus is top of the pops for diving, last Saturday took the biscuit. If a defender as much as looks at him his legs give way and it's always in the scoring zone. Your Tyrone lad not bad either." Spoken like a true begrudger. Jjoniel79 (Monaghan) - Posts: 199 - 08/07/2023 17:50:37 2493154 Link
Mcmanus is cute and clever. He gets his body in a position between the ball and the defender and gets fouled. tommyjohn (Monaghan) - Posts: 64 - 08/07/2023 21:12:37 2493210 Link
Replying To avonali: "Diving is cheating; simple as that. It should have no part in any of our games. The problem is the ref is the one that gets all the flak if he gives the free while the player gets the plaudits for 'winning' the free. The Kerry Tyrone qualifier down in Killarney in 2012 was one of the worst games for diving I've ever seen for diving. But all teams are at it now." I wouldn't say players get praised for diving but the lack of coverage given to the problem by pundits is effectively saying its OK. Annoying and all as brolly was at least he had the guts to call it out. Galway9801 (Galway) - Posts: 1942 - 08/07/2023 22:31:45 2493243 Link
I would love to see a system where a management team can have 2-3 reviews in a game, and if the player is shown to have dived the referee sends the player off. It would cut out a lot of the cheating which is now rampant in the game. ExiledInWex (Dublin) - Posts: 1337 - 10/07/2023 16:11:16 2493628 Link
Replying To Fontofwisdom: "Was it just me or did the talk amongst the Sunday Game pundits of players 'buying frees', in particular at the end of the Monaghan and Armagh game, not unnerve football fans? Doesn't that mean an acknowledgement of the skill in tricking a ref into blowing the whistle, ie diving? This is not a dig at Monaghan in particular. fair play to them, they're warriors, but at all players who 'buy frees'. There was almost no contact in either the free given against Armagh, which Monaghan used to get to penalties, or for that matter in the tackle that led to the Monaghan black card. Diving, according to our pundits, is a now a skill!" Buying a free has been going on since football began. The likes of Brolly and Spillane who talk about manliness in the game I'm sure might have done it too once or twice. What McManus did was run run straight at a player who wasn't going going to stay away from contact. Murnane step across him at stuck a hand in and fouled McManus by making contact with his foot and body and made no contact with the ball. Backheel (Leitrim) - Posts: 194 - 10/07/2023 18:24:23 2493655 Link
Replying To Backheel: "Buying a free has been going on since football began. The likes of Brolly and Spillane who talk about manliness in the game I'm sure might have done it too once or twice. What McManus did was run run straight at a player who wasn't going going to stay away from contact. Murnane step across him at stuck a hand in and fouled McManus by making contact with his foot and body and made no contact with the ball." Nonsense. Nowhere in the rules does it say that you have to get out of the way of an opponent. In fact, running directly at your opponent is meant to be charging. Mcmanus initiated the contact and threw himself over. However, rather than criticise him, the pundits actually praised him for having the intelligence to do this. Fontofwisdom (Cavan) - Posts: 128 - 11/07/2023 20:40:18 2493886 Link
Replying To Fontofwisdom: "Nonsense. Nowhere in the rules does it say that you have to get out of the way of an opponent. In fact, running directly at your opponent is meant to be charging. Mcmanus initiated the contact and threw himself over. However, rather than criticise him, the pundits actually praised him for having the intelligence to do this." I didn't say he had to get out of his way. I said he stepped across him and stuck his hand in. They are completely different things. Backheel (Leitrim) - Posts: 194 - 12/07/2023 19:19:03 2494021 Link
all players in all teams "buy" frees now so no point in anyone pointing fingers. There is a difference in diving and buying frees. I see very few dives where lads throw themselves on the ground without being touched. What does happen is players forcing their opponent into a foul. Every match you see a player carrying a ball and when coming into the tackle they will lower their head to force the opponent into an "arm around the neck" or a player carrying the ball step in front of his man to force a "tangle of legs", trip. It's cynical and it's clever and it has always been around in different forms so don't fool yourselves. Players who did this in the 80s and 90s were "cute". liosbreac6265 (Longford) - Posts: 258 - 13/07/2023 10:05:32 2494066 Link
Ask the Clare hurlers about it, they have perfected it. countyman2022 (Wexford) - Posts: 788 - 13/07/2023 10:23:52 2494071 Link
Replying To countyman2022: "Ask the Clare hurlers about it, they have perfected it." But I thought these things couldn't possibly ever happen in hurling. oneoff (UK) - Posts: 1623 - 13/07/2023 10:33:01 2494072 Link
Replying To liosbreac6265: "all players in all teams "buy" frees now so no point in anyone pointing fingers. There is a difference in diving and buying frees. I see very few dives where lads throw themselves on the ground without being touched. What does happen is players forcing their opponent into a foul. Every match you see a player carrying a ball and when coming into the tackle they will lower their head to force the opponent into an "arm around the neck" or a player carrying the ball step in front of his man to force a "tangle of legs", trip. It's cynical and it's clever and it has always been around in different forms so don't fool yourselves. Players who did this in the 80s and 90s were "cute"." "Buying" a free is still diving and is cheating. A corner forward grabbing a defenders Arm as he goes down is cheating I'd say David Gough is the only ref whoever called a free against a forward for that tirawleybaron (Mayo) - Posts: 1382 - 13/07/2023 19:45:10 2494216 Link