Manchester United centurion Wayne Rooney has shrugged off the claims from Arsenal fans that he was on his way down already before contact from Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia in the 2-1 victory over the Gunners last Saturday. Rooney scored from the resulting penalty – which brought United back into the game.
Rooney was at the centre of a penalty controversy back in November 2004 – when Sol Campbell brought United’s then number 8 to the floor in front of a watching Stretford End. Campbell was so angered by Rooney’s ‘dive’ he refused to shake hands with the ever developing Rooney. The result ended Arsenal’s unbeaten league run on 49, thats 49 – not 50. Fast forward five years and at the same end Rooney’s integrity was being questioned by some Gooners – still angered at the fact that full time diver Eduardo was to miss two Champions League games for Arsenal (I do have some sympathy considering diving is a bookable offense as opposed to a red card offense).
Comical Rooney played down the accusations of his diving but admitted that he had dived….whilst on holiday (what a crazy guy):
“Have I ever dived? On holiday, yeah. But, no, I have never intentionally tried to dive. There have been times when I’ve tried to stay on my feet to get the shot off rather than going down.”
As a forward you should always remain on your feet whenever possible in my book. If you go to ground easy you always risk being booked and ultimately simulation is a form of cheating. However, I understand why players like Rooney do go ground under challenges like Almunia’s. The Spaniard had no reason to come out that far and challenge for the ball – replays showed he clearly misjudged the ball and indeed grasped the legs of our number ten. One thing I have always wondered though – why is it that when you get older as a footballer you tend to ‘use your experience’ to go down under a challenge rather than be classified as a diver? Why is that?
Rooney also commented on the laughable dive from Emmanuel Eboue:
“That was clear for everyone to see and he got the punishment of a yellow card. These things have happened for years and you can only bank on the referees making the right decision and giving the right punishment. It’s important the game is played honestly. I’m sure many big games have been decided by wrong decisions. But it’s not down to me to fix, it’s down to other people.”
So there you have it. Rooney dives – on holiday – and he thinks, like the rest of us, that Emmanuel Eboue is an absolute cheat.