Soccer is such an exciting and active sport that the audience cannot hold their eyes in a place for a few seconds. Players are continuously running with the ball and trying to snatch the ball from one another. It often leads to unwanted accidents. Fans get attached to the game so much. If they get to know any player is faking their injuries, they get hurt.
Furthermore, some players try to fake their injuries during the match. It appears to occur in nearly any session. The causes for the faking may be numerous and sometimes complex also. If anyone gets caught while faking the injuries, the referee can penalize them. In this article, we will discuss the reasons why soccer players intend to fake their injuries.
Terms to identify faking an injury
Four terms in soccer have been used to explain a fake injury. They are- Faking an injury, Flopping, Diving, and Simulation. These terms suggest dropping to the surface to obtain a privileged opportunity. Simulation is known as frauding an injury, flop, or dive.
Why do Players Fake Injuries in Soccer?
There are multiple reasons behind faking an injury. Usually, soccer players fake injuries to get some advantage for the team. The advantage can be, achieve a free kick, penalty or get the opponent to play a card. Here we have mentioned 7 top reasons behind faking injuries in soccer.
1. Attract the attention of the referee
The referee is the ultimate authority of all decisions made on the soccer pitch during a match. The most fundamental explanation for a sportsman to fake an accident is to get the referee’s concern. So, the athlete tries to convince the referee about his injury. If the referee gets convinced, the player or his team has an advantage, or the opponent team gets a disadvantage. It happens when faking or flopping problems come into play.
2. Earn a Penalty Kick for the team
Athletes are well-known for doing anything to gain an advantage. It includes diving in critical times or parts of the pitch to grant their team a penalty. In soccer, every foul performed inside the penalty box results in a one-on-one penalty kick against the goalie. Sometimes, the participant falls on the ground deliberately. When the referee gives the sign for a foul, the athlete seems to stand up on his legs quickly. This scenario is quite common on the soccer field.
It is not hard to score the penalty shot by most of the players. Moreover, it may have a significant effect on the outcome of a tournament. Any team can win the soccer game with just one goal if the opposite side does not score. So, the penalty kick has a significant role in a soccer game. On the other hand, a penalty goal can break the tie of the match as well if the previous score is 1-1.
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3. To waste time
We have mentioned before also that soccer is an active game. Players need to run for 45 minutes without any break. Despite what is going on in the game, the time in soccer does not pause. The referee will provide additional minutes to the ending of the half if there are any interruptions or stoppages in-game.
Nevertheless, the additional time given to the match is frequently inaccurate. To enjoy the benefits, sometimes participants pretend to have an accident to keep the game from continuing for as long as possible. As long as the referee pauses the soccer match for an accident, the other side has no opportunity to score a goal.
4. Make a goal-scoring scenario for the team
The soccer star can dive and pretend to be injured to open up a goal-scoring possibility for their squad. Some athletes pretend to fall when they watch their opponent take the lead. They try to snatch the opportunity from their opponents and put them into their team.
The object is to make the referee believe that the opponent has pushed him. As a result, the athlete gets a chance to be close to the goal bar. Receiving a location near the opponent’s goal provides an obvious opportunity for the player to score.
5. For penalizing another player
Another motive a competitor can pretend to be injured is to penalize his opponent. There are instances during a soccer match when several athletes may annoy each other. It gradually makes them angry with each other. It may result in a participant attempting to penalize the other opponent unethically.
One approach to accomplish this is to persuade the referee that the other athlete has done a foul and needs to be penalized. Sometimes, the referee gives the opponent a yellow or red card as a punishment.
6. An effort to reclaim control of the ball
It is common for soccer to flop after being attacked or just after losing control of the ball. It happens with the athlete for the pressure of the opponent team. In this situation, sometimes a participant can pretend to be injured to stop the game. The athlete does the fake accident in the hope of getting back control of the ball from the referee. This strategy shows the athlete’s failure to hold control of the ball. The audience considers this as a cheap trick as well.
7. Annoying the opponent
The entire team gets upset when they understand their team member hasn’t made a foul, but the referee penalizes him for it. The frustration often leads a team to lose their concentration in the game. In addition, it eventually results in losing the match. In soccer, these types of unfair incidents are all too frequent. It also interrupts the pace of the soccer match.
Furthermore, in comparison to other games, soccer has been relatively slow to adopt the technology. So, the referees do not get a chance to watch a captured review. They need to make decisions based entirely on what they observe.
When do athletes intend to flop during a soccer match?
We have discussed the reasons why a player pretends to fake injury in a soccer match. But the professionals do not flop in every time deliberately. There are some timing that the athletes consider to be beneficial to flop during a soccer match.
Players intend to flip in their territory if they see their opponents in a scoring position. Faking an injury may help the team to reclaim the ball from the other side. Secondly, defenders may also fall to provide their squad with strong field positions. It creates a possibility for a score when the ball is near to the free-kick zone. When athletes are within the penalty box, they frequently tumble to get a penalty kick from the referees.
Everyone knows the faking attitude of the participants now and then. But it certainly snatches the authenticity of the soccer match. Audiences are attached to this exciting game. They also get upset if they find out their favorite athlete is faking his injury.
The Punishment for Soccer Players Faking Injuries
IFAB has some strict laws against any athletes who fake their injuries. The referees are allowed to penalize the player if they find out about the flopping. According to IFAB, “attempts to deceive the referee, e.g. by feigning injury or pretending to have been fouled (simulation).” So, the player should be careful of getting a yellow or red card. It is harmful to the player as well as the team also.
A yellow card is a significant penalty that a participant should be conscious of deceiving the referee. Though, the referee will not show an athlete the red card in the first place. The referee will only show the red card if they have already shown the yellow card two times earlier and the player is still diving.
Football fake injury is frequently regarded as a shabby strategy by any athlete. The greatest soccer players have disliked faking fouls as they didn’t have to do it anytime. They have proved that they were capable of defeating their competitors without the need to mislead the referee. That’s why we are also not going to recommend it to anyone. Practicing and working hard can ultimately develop the gaming skill of any player. So, our recommendation will be on working hard. The athletes should practice good sportsmanship and play any sports ethically and legally.