Sydney FC’s ‘No Diving Policy’ might actually be working

Category: Football

Publish Date: 12-13-2011 04:07 AM -0500

Imagine, if you will, a place where football clubs fine their own players for diving and they do so after those players voluntarily admit to the offense. It may seem hard to believe, but A-League side Sydney FC instituted such a policy this season and defender Shannon Cole is the player who confessed to breaking it.

From Reuters:

Cole admitted the offence against the club's "No Diving Policy" after going down under pressure from a Gold Coast United player in stoppage time at the end of a 0-0 draw on Sunday.

"I knew I did the wrong thing as soon as I hit the ground so I got up without asking for a penalty and ran straight back into position," Cole said in a club news release.

"I was expecting to be fouled when he came across but after going to the ground I realised straight away he had not fouled me."

As far as I can tell, this is not a dispatch from the Twilight Zone.

Why doesn't every club adopt this policy? Not only would it show fans that they're serious about condemning and curtailing simulation, but it would be a great way to get back a large percentage of the inflated wages paid to players that cause so many clubs to go into debt. Then again, Luis Suarez and many others might need to get a second job just to pay off those fines.

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