AOB: Diving me crazy

It was a pretty good week to be an England fan, with qualification for the world cup being secured in uncharacteristically emphatic fashion. I'm looking forward to the inevitable nine-months-of-massive-hype-followed-by-crushing-disappointment already. But amidst the joy it was a shame that the fans at Wembley felt the need to boo Eduardo, presumably in response to the Croatia striker's dive in the Arsenal - Celtic Champions League game.

The booing was ironic given that I'm sure the same supporters were cheering as loudly as anyone else when Stephen Gerrard, a player not adverse to the odd dramatic fall himself, scored twice to set the Three Lions on the way to a comfortable victory. And I think the incident demonstrates the ridiculously hypocritical attitude towards diving exhibited by everyone as football. We accept so many other forms of cheating and gamesmanship as part of the sport, but for some reason reserve the right to jump on our high horses when the subject of simulation comes up.

Who among us complains when Danny Potter takes an age over a goal kick? Or if a few yards are stolen at a free kick or throw in? Or if Carden is in the ref's ear all game trying to influence his decisions? Not many I'd have thought, yet if a player dives they become the devil incarnate. Why is this? Perhaps it's because diving is percieved to be a problem introduced to the English game by Johnny Foreigner and is therefore, by definition, worse? I don't know, but it perplexes me that something so insignificant has become such a big issue in the last few weeks.

Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer it if there was no foul play in football at all, but I think we have accept that diving is part of the game now, and that if we're making a list of the problems of modern football, it should/would probably be a long way down the list.