So it’s not just players who do it
Players who dive often have a hard time shaking off the reputation. Look at Ashley Young, Arjen Robben and Wilfried Zaha whenever they get fouled, and look out for the furious responses as people simply assume they dived because they have done so a few hundred times in the past.
It sticks. People remember. It’s a simple fact of life, no one ever remembers the parties where you don’t soil yourself while surrounded by your in-laws, just the ones where it happens.
But it appears that it’s not just footballers (and purely hypothetical writers) who are prone to memorable acts such as this, as a referee in the Dutch Eredivisie illustrated over the weekend.
The incident took place as referee Jochem Kamphuis was officiating a crucial match between Vitesse Arnhem and FC Twente in a game which the hosts went on to win 5-0.
😂 | Scheidsrechter Kamphuis gaat overdreven naar de grond.
"Daar staat maar één straf op."#vittwe https://t.co/U1cpn3IbH8 pic.twitter.com/ZuF6modKO8
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) April 29, 2018
Running behind Vitesse’s number 25, Navarone Foor, Kamphuis seemed to believe he had felt a clip to his heels and, like any good performer, fell to his feet as if he had been picked off from a grassy knoll metres away.
Unimpressed with the theatrics on show, Foor preceded to approach the referee, remove a yellow card from his shirt pocket and show it to him for simulation.
It was all fun and games and everyone had a good laugh until full-time, at which point FC Twente were relegated to the Eerste Divisie.
Still, at least they got a funny story out of their day of abject misery.
