SUMMARY
- Kai Havertz's exaggerated fall led to a disallowed penalty against Manchester United.
- Raheem Sterling's questionable dive in the dying moments against Wolverhampton Wanderers earned him a yellow card.
The beautiful game of soccer can sometimes take an ugly turn. While skill and athleticism define its essence, simulation infects the sport, also known as diving. In 2023, these dives weren’t just clumsy attempts to fool referees, they were masterpieces of drama, works of fiction worthy of Oscar nominations.
So, without further ado, let’s raise the curtain on the most horrible dives of the year:
1. Kai Havertz (Arsenal 3-2 Manchester United)
On September 3rd, 2023, Arsenal hosted their long-time rivals, Manchester United. With the match going strong at both ends, things were looking tense between the two clubs. As the match continued to the 59th minute, the scores were on level at 1-1, and Arsenal received a counter-attack.
On this counter-attack, Kai Havertz led the Arsenal team into the box, but as things looked congested around him, he thought to handle the matter in his own hands. As Lisandro Martinez and Aaron Wan-Bissaka came near him he tumbled down on the floor without even being touched by the opponents.
Claiming to have won a penalty, VAR disallowed the turnover to penalty and gave away the free-kick to Manchester United. Eventually, as the match progressed, Arsenal went on to win this prestigious game by 3-1 and sealed the 3 points in their perfect start to the season.
2. Raheem Sterling (Wolves 2-1 Chelsea)
Raheem Sterling hasn’t had a terrific start to his career at Chelsea. Having failed to accomplish success at the London club, Sterling has come under a lot of scrutiny as he hasn’t been able to lead the struggling team to viable results.
This season already, Chelsea hasn’t had a good start to the season, as they currently sit 10th in the Premier League table. On Gameweek 18, Chelsea faced their midtable opponents Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux, with the time ticking by and the final whistle coming close. Chelsea were losing 2-1 by the 90+8th minute of the game.
With just 2 minutes of added time remaining, Chelsea were in control of the ball and Sterling took a dribble down into the box. As he entered the box he faced a tackle from Joao Gomes and fell to the ground, but as replays showed Sterling fell over without being touched, this enactment gave Sterling a yellow card by the match referee David Coote.
3. Erling Haaland (Chelsea 4-4 Manchester City)
Gameweek 12, on November 12, 2023, Chelsea hosted Manchester City at the Stamford Bridge. This match was full-on entertainment which was worth the watch. The game was an end-to-end encounter wherein both teams scored a goal to nullify the other team’s goal again and again.
Chelsea concede this penalty for a small
shirt pull by Marc Cucurella appeared to after Haaland pulled him first! pic.twitter.com/100VnBgMtH— Terry Flewers (@terryflewers) November 12, 2023
But the limelight came for the first goal for Manchester City, which many claim to be a soft penalty or a dive from Erling Haaland. In the 24th minute of the game, Haaland entered the 6-yard box to claim a cross from his teammate but as he entered the box he was softly held on by Chelsea’s defender Marc Cucurella.
Looking at the size of both the players many seem to say Haaland made a blatant dive to earn a penalty for his team. Haaland took the penalty himself and scored it to open the goal fest of the game.
4. Dominic Szoboszlai (Liverpool 3-1 Bournemouth)
On August 19, 2023, Liverpool faced Bournemouth in the Gameweek 2 of the Premier League. Having gone 1-0 down with an early goal from Antoine Semenyo of Bournemouth, Liverpool looked tensed to grab an equalizer so they could lead the charge to win the game.
Wrong decision ✅
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes the decision to award Dominik Szoboszlai a penalty against Bournemouth was the incorrect call by the officials. ❌👀 pic.twitter.com/MCemKjqIT7
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 21, 2023
As the game struck the 35th minute, Liverpool won a penalty but many believe it shouldn’t have been given as the Bournemouth defender Joe Rothwell barely touched the victim Dominic Szoboszlai. As the penalty was given, even though it was saved, Mohamed Salah converted the rebound to equalize the score line.
Liverpool went on to win the game, but the headlines were struck with Andoni Iraola, the Bournemouth manager, claiming that the penalty was very soft.
5. Fabian Schar (Wolves 2-2 Newcastle United)
On October 28th, 2023, Wolves hosted Newcastle United for a Premier League clash at the Molineux. In this intense clash of a match, headlines were blown away with a controversial decision that took place in the added time of the first half.
Newcastle United had a corner and Wolves managed to clear it out, everybody thought the game was safe and we will be heading into the half-time. But things took a different turn as a penalty was awarded to Newcastle United which was converted by their striker, Callum Wilson.
Anthony Taylor is DEMOTED to the Championship this weekend – after Gary O’Neil raged at controversial penalty awarded to Newcastle against Wolves on Saturday pic.twitter.com/Rdbaq959b3
— BOOMBET NG (@BoomBetNG) November 3, 2023
As the match ended, Wolves manager Gary O’Neil was furious at the referee, Anthony Taylor, as he claimed, “It was a terrible decision on-field and from VAR (but) we managed to bounce back.” With this decision even though Bournemouth bounced back to a draw, they felt robbed.
As a review was held to the decision, the match referee, Anthony Taylor was eventually demoted to the EFL Championship, i.e. the second division of the English leagues.
These dives, while undeniably hilarious, highlight a serious issue in football. Simulation undermines fair play, tarnishes the image of the sport, and can even influence match outcomes. While entertaining for neutral fans, they leave supporters of the wronged team fuming and damage the credibility of the players involved.