UEFA's supposed clampdown on diving has been
brought to a halt after just one case.
In an admission that is bound to further infuriate Arsenal after
Eduardo was suspended for two matches for diving, the governing
body has, reports The Times, 'confirmed that there are no plans to
institute a regular programme of video referral for matches under
its jurisdiction or issue an anti-diving directive'.
Rather than set a precedent that UEFA are determined to follow,
the charge and subsequent banning of Eduardo is thus set to remain
an arbitrary one-off, principally motivated by what The Times calls
an 'unfortunate series of coincidences'. It would appear, as F365
reported at the time, that Eduardo has only been singled out
because he committed his dive in a match against Scottish opponents
broadcast on free-for-all television on a day of the week when no
other high-profile games were being played.
'Article 10 (1c), which was introduced by Uefa as a consequence
of the furore that followed Rivaldo's feigning antics when playing
for Brazil in the 2002 World Cup, exists to punish the worst
offenders, but there is no appetite at Uefa to mount a wholesale
campaign against diving through the retrospective use of video
technology,' reports the newspaper.
Arsenal have still yet to decide whether to appeal against
Eduardo's suspension, with the governing body unable to provide the
club with the rationale for banning the Croatian until later today.
To date, all UEFA have faxed to the club is a single paragraph of
text that reads, 'Having examined all the documents of the case
which the player charged had likewise examined the control and
disciplinary body decides that the player Eduardo is suspended for
two Uefa club competition matches.'
The anomaly in that judgement is that Eduardo has been suspended
for an offence that the rulebook stipulates should only receive a
caution. Any hope that the governing body would issue an amendment
to instigate a wider clampdown has, unfortunately, already been
dashed. 'Although Eduardo's suspension is similar to that which
might accompany a red card, Uefa will not now ask referees to send
players off for such offences,' reports The Guardian.
While the news will meet with general disappointment, Uefa's
handling of the Eduardo case perhaps suggests that their withdrawal
is just as well. Of the two faxes sent to Arsenal on the matter,
one failed to arrive and the other was sent to the offices of
Arsenal Ladies at the club's Hertfordshire training ground.
- Football365