Let's rewrite the rules of football........The Penalty Goal - Proposal # 1

[Mick Mac]

Haven't got a clue - you decide.

[Narnia]

Ok....the Uruguayans were cheated by the pro African ref who was pressurised by FIFA to ensure an African team remained in the competition and did everything he could to ensure that happened. How's that?

[Loz]

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Would Maradona's handball in 1986 or Henry's handball against Ireland be viewed as cheating? I'd say yes.

Yes and no. Yes, in the same way that accepting a throw-in when you know the ball came off you last or accepting a free kick when you know the defender didn't contact you is technically cheating. The cases of a striker telling a ref to not give a penalty because no contact was made when he fell over his own feet can be counted on one hand. Possibly one finger.

But, no, in that both of those happened in the heat of battle and I suspect both were secretly surprised when no whistle sounded. There is a big difference to that and going down clutching your face when no contact was made. That is cheating.

There is a big difference between 'got away with it' and 'setting out to purposely con the ref'.

[DJKillaQueen]

Ultimately it's the responsibility of the ref and his linesmen to spot these things....and if they can't, use video technology that can.

Also when you are a player you have less than a split moment to decide what you do. Players tend to develop patterns that they do without thinking, for example one player will always try and bypass a half tackle whereas another will always go down. You just don't have the time to think - do I bypass or do I go down? It's the same with hand balls mostly too. Yes the Uraguay player deliberately hand balled on the goal line but in his mind it was an instant reaction to his head saying 'goal coming' - a nano second thing.....it's not always the heinous crime that we think. If anything, his celebration of the missed penalty was the unsportmanlike behaviour.

[Mick Mac]

Possibly Loz - but also there is a big difference in cheating that directly results in a goal Maradona/Henry and that which is trying to win a foul/have a player sent off. I see the former as more serious.

I'm not in the "cheeky chappie tries to get away with it" camp when handball results in a team going out of the world cup.

Other than technology/5th official we can't help Maradona moments, but we can do something about the Suarez handball, the solution seems obvious.

[SimonM]

Why keep mentioning rugby so approvingly - a game effectivly invented by a guy who was cheating at football?

[Mick Mac]

There is some irony there given the current discussion Simon. Although most people on this thread think handling the ball in football is not cheating.

I approve of rugby's rule making bodies - they make changes when they think fit and are not afraid to experiment and choose not to adopt rules that don't work. I prefer this to the "warts and all" attitude FIFA allow to prevail in its administration of the rules of football.

[????]

The laws of Football did do something about the Suarez situation. He was sent off and Ghana got a penalty kick, which they failed to convert.

[Mick Mac]

Cheats allowed to prosper and rub it in the noses of the opposition.....very sad.

But I accept I'm not getting much agreement here, so there you go. We will agree to differ.

[Loz]

But as Narnia pointed out, Mick, the free kick that prompted all this was the result of a dive anyway.

Face it - football is the sport of cheats. Tinkering around the edges won't change that.