sport news Quick feet, trips and trailing legs... Mail Sport's experts CHRIS SUTTON, MARK ... trends now
It’s the new diving. Throw out a leg as the defender moves in for the ball, make first contact and then find yourself in a heap. To the naked eye, it is a penalty. Cast iron.
When Bukayo Saka raced toward goal with a chance to make it 3-2 against Bayern Munich in a Champions League quarter final, it seemed that nothing could stop him.
Out came Manuel Neuer, the veteran German of some repute. On first look, as Saka was sent sprawling, it was no debate. Penalty kick, the German took his leg away.
But wait. As the 60,000 Emirates crowd were baying for the referee’s whistle, Sweden’s Glenn Nyberg blew for full-time! A case of officials getting wise, or – according to Arsenal supporters – a case of the referee getting it wrong?
Unlike when two decisions favoured Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon recently against West Ham (one was much to the misfortune of the luckless Kalvin Phillips) or when masters of the mischief, Wilf Zaha, Jamie Vardy or Harry Kane, regularly tried it on in the Premier League, this time the referee was not falling for the fall.
Bukayo Saka was subject of a controversial moment at the end of Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich
The England forward went down in a heap after coming into contact with Manuel Neuer
There is little evidence of Saka, a budding Premier League superstar and a popular England player too, diving – especially with such a clear goalscoring opportunity.
But since VAR, player realise that diving alone will not get them a penalty so the trailing leg is on the rise and defenders need to beware. It will be coming to a penalty box near you soon.
Rarely an episode of Match of the Day passes without this new phenomenon, so what do our experts think about it? And how would you feel if Saka, Gordon or Kane do exactly the same thing at the Euros? After all, nobody seemed to complain when Michael Owen went a full Tom Daly in the box.
CHRIS SUTTON – STRIKER VERDICTThe old trailing leg routine is a classic tactic for certain strikers, though not one that I was ever inclined to try. I'd much rather score myself than try to con the referee, or 'do a Harry Kane’ as we might be tempted to call it!
Jamie Vardy made a career out of turning 50-50s into 70-30s in his favour, using his speed to fool us into thinking he was clipped.
He won a penalty at the Emirates Stadium in February 2016 when he skipped by Nacho Monreal and left out a dangling leg to create the contact. But just because Vardy got away with it back then does not mean Bukayo Saka should have been awarded a penalty against Bayern Munich.
Saka threw himself into Manuel Neuer. He avoids the challenges of Premier League defenders on a weekly basis and I don't think of him as a dropper-downer because he usually manoeuvres around them so masterfully.
Jamie Vardy made a career out of turning 50-50s into 70-30s in his favour using his speed to his advantage
Chris Sutton believes Saka was looking to win the penalty by throwing himself into Neuer
But for whatever reason, he chose to crash into Neuer on this occasion. This was a classic case of a player looking to win a penalty.
What made it even more baffling was how Saka could have scored if he stayed on his feet, and I cannot help wonder if this could prove costly for Arsenal in the Champions League. Those same supporters screaming for a foul on Saka would have been livid if this was Kane trying to dupe David Raya, especially given his reputation for going to ground.
I was asked on Wednesday whether strikers practise winning penalties in training. That would be pretty pathetic if so, but then I can't speak for Jose Mourinho's Porto team in the 2003 UEFA Cup final! They threw themselves to the deck whenever possible against my Celtic side!
Paolo Ferreira admitted as much a few years later. I host the Simulation Game on BBC Radio 5Live where I look at the weekend’s worst dives and name and shame the winner. At first, I thought we wouldn’t have enough incidents to analyse weekly. It turns out we have too many to choose from! That’s how rife it is in the Premier League and I still think there needs to be a hard-line approach to stopping divers by issuing them with a three-game ban. That would soon stop those who like to trail a leg in pursuit of a penalty.
SHOULD ARSENAL HAVE WON A PENALTY?
No – Saka tried to con us all.
MARTIN KEOWN –
