And The Emmy Goes To… Soccer Players!
Soccer, Football, whatever you like to call it, it’s a great game, maybe the greatest game. But the sport suffers from one glaring fault: Flops. Also known as dives or simulations, in technical parlance, flops occur from the local high school level all the way up through to the highest echelons of the professional arena. If you watch long enough, you will see the world’s greatest players cry bloody murder and fling themselves to the ground at the slightest contact or provocation. It’s suggested that some soccer cultures even consider duping the referee in this manner all part of the game. But most fans hate it, and the soccer authorities are taking actions against it.
Flopping can happen for a few different reasons and in different ways. The first thing to understand, is that judging the occurrence and severity of a flop is judging on a gray-scale, and refs have a hard enough job, as is. Soccer is, comparatively, a very fast game that puts bodies in contact at high rates of speed. So, where some players may be faking it, most hit the ground legitimately from fast contact or loss of footing in a flying melee. These are excusable. Dives are not, and the powers that be are taking note.
A 2008 study found that many flops share some recognizable traits. If witnessing a flop has ever ruffled your feathers, you’ve probably noticed and agree with the findings.
First and most notable is the time difference between when the contact is made and when the guilty party decides to drop to the ground. Further, they are usually looking at the ref imploringly even while they are going down, if not shortly thereafter.
Second is the lack of ballistic continuity, meaning that the player will fly or roll farther than gravity and physics would allow. It’s a dramatic flourish that gives the sport a bad rep.
The third telltale sign of simulation is when the player nurses a supposedly afflicted body part other than where impact occurred. Most commonly we see this when the chest or neck is touched and the thespian clutches their face like they just got punched, usually accompanied by righteous indignation.
Fourth is the “Archer’s Bow.” The player thrusts his chest out, spreads his arms out wide over his head, throws his head back with knees bent and feet lifted behind him. You can bet the action is theatrical because it’s contrary to the unconscious reflex mechanisms the human body employs to protect itself during a fall.
The referees have a tough, sometimes multilingual job, all by themselves, surveying 22 characters on a hundred meter field, but now they’re getting some support from the soccer authorities. The official FIFA rules now state that “attempts to deceive the referee by feigning injury or pretending to have been fouled (simulation)” should be considered unsporting behavior, which is punishable by yellow card. Further, some leagues have begun reviewing questionable actions, post game. This has resulted in suspensions and fines levied against players. These reviews even give the disciplinary committee the authority to exonerate players found to be innocent.
Not much has changed in this great sport over the decades, but this is one unfortunate aspect of the game that is thankfully getting some much appreciated attention and may even turn some hearts out there.
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