World Yawn-er, Cup

[ThrowHeat]

The trend lately (over the last 20 years I reckon) of this "play acting" bullshit is a disgrace to the sport. They never used to do that falling down looking for the ref. BS... Case in point, the final match. Germany played the entire tourny like gentlemen while Argentina played like a bunch of children. who won? Germany thank god. Until there is more of that tho, and each goal is worth 13 points, USA will never appreciate Soccer the way the rest of the world enjoys a sport that has been around for a thousand years.

 
I can't stand all of the dive taking that goes in in football.  It really does ruin the game.  Unfortunately, with only a few officials on the field, it makes it easy for players to get away with it.  Acting in order to bait a free kick or penalty shot has become a part of the strategy for some players/teams.  Brazil is a perfect example.  Their team was the worst in the World Cup when it came to that sort of nonsense.
 
I just wish that the refs would start retroactively penalizing players who take blatant dives.  If the potential consequence for cheating in such a way was to get yellow cards, or even red cards for repeat offenders, you would see that bullshit come to a halt within a year or two.

 

[solid7]

Diving is a sickness that is endemic to certain nations.  Most of them are in South America, but Italy has long enjoyed a noble line of thespians.  More than 20 years, as previously mentioned...

 

[Scovie]

It has already been done. WC 2010 the official from England (if memory serves) started throwing yellow cards to players previously warned about play acting. I was lovin it. It has had absolutely zero affect tho...

Portugal, Spain, and oh yeah... don't forget the sissy Frenchies. They are all horrible about that crap.
The Frenchies... WC 2010, the players were actually protesting against FIFA saying the balls were lighter. I guess they were all fighting amongst themselves on the plane on the way to South Africa. Buncha babies.
 
,,l,  <--- This is my middle finger to the damm frenchies.

 

[Lucky Dog Hot Sauce]

 
I can't stand all of the dive taking that goes in in football.  It really does ruin the game.  Unfortunately, with only a few officials on the field, it makes it easy for players to get away with it.  Acting in order to bait a free kick or penalty shot has become a part of the strategy for some players/teams.  Brazil is a perfect example.  Their team was the worst in the World Cup when it came to that sort of nonsense.
 
I just wish that the refs would start retroactively penalizing players who take blatant dives.  If the potential consequence for cheating in such a way was to get yellow cards, or even red cards for repeat offenders, you would see that bullshit come to a halt within a year or two.

I agree - suspensions and fines for blatant crap like in the videos posted here so far.

Go back and review - if it's obvious (e.g. No physical contact) then fine & suspend the player.

Now it hurts the team, so the teams would crack down on it.

Ive been to a few Earthquakes games - did not see one dive. This is a learned behavior. But the only way teams will crack down on players is if it has the potential to harm the team.

At present a warning doesn't do shit. And a stern lecture or even a fine won't do shit. You have to hit the team where it hurts: zero tolerance. Flop today, suspended tomorrow. Do it again and it's a 3-game suspension. A 3rd time is 5 games.

As you said, 1-2 years tops and it's gone. It's the single worst thing about "the beautiful game" and it's a key reason Americans won't embrace it.