MOHAMED Salah had barely hit the ground before a crowd of Crystal Palace players were in his face, letting him know exactly what they thought of the Egyptian’s antics.
They were incensed. Salah had, after all, quite clearly attempted to con referee Jon Moss by throwing himself to the floor following the slightest hint of contact from Mamadou Sakho. This certainly wasn’t the first time this sort of scene had been witnessed.
It was a similar story against Arsenal on New Year’s Day, when Salah was criticised for the way he went down inside the box, winning his side a penalty. Rafael Benitez also labelled the decision to award the Liverpool forward a spot kick against Newcastle on Boxing Day as “soft.” Something has crept into Salah’s game in recent weeks.
Salah equalises with a clever finish….and before you whataboutery obsessives start, yes we’ll look at his dive on @BBCMOTD tonight.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) January 19, 2019
The Egyptian is a tremendously gifted footballer who can decide a match almost all on his own. His form over the past two seasons has been as good as anything served up by any Premier League player since the days of Cristiano Ronaldo. And yet he risks being tagged as a diver. His reputation could end up in the gutter.
Just look at Neymar's reputation. The Brazilian is arguably the best player in the world after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and yet for many fans, his theatrical side overshadows his goals and brilliance with the ball at his feet.
Closer to home, players like Dele Alli, Raheem Sterling and Ashley Young have, at various points, been labelled divers. Such a tag can be difficult be shake off and it can do damage to more than just a footballer’s image. It can start to subconsciously influence the decisions made by match officials.
Sterling, for example, should have been awarded a penalty in Manchester City’s win over Huddersfield Town at the weekend. The winger was quite clearly taken down by Terence Kongolo inside the box, and yet nothing was given. Gary Neville called it a “stonewall” penalty, adding that he had “no idea why [it] wasn’t given.” Sterling’s reputation was surely a factor in the mind of referee Andre Mariner.
Mark Clattenburg on Mo Salah diving…
" He tries to deceive the ref. As he is Liverpool's penalty taker he will dive knowing he has a free shot at goal. He is then likely to increase his chances of winning the Golden Boot."
Absolutely no chill from the man! pic.twitter.com/Jb266zKXjJ
— TheSportsman Transfers (@TSMTransfers) January 21, 2019
After the past few weeks, officials will now be wary of Salah’s tendency to hit the ground a little easily and that could start to count against him. It could ultimately cost Liverpool at a time when they can’t afford any slip-ups as the Premier League’s pace-setters. Jurgen Klopp might wish to have a word with the Egyptian,.
Of course, there is the valid argument made that top players should be afforded a level of protection from match officials. Neymar, for instance, would argue that he is kicked and legitimately fouled more than any player in world football. He has a case. We should be wary of creating an environment where attacking talents, the ones that light up the sport, are fair game for bully-boy tactics.
Salah has been the victim of such tactics, though. Diving only compromises the reputation he’d built for himself since joining Liverpool. Before all this stuff started there were few players in the Premier League as universally popular as the Egyptian. Now, he has given fans a reason to boo, a reason to target. That has to, on some level, hurt.
We should be talking about how for the second successive season a wide forward is the Premier League’s top scorer. About how Salah is driving Liverpool to their first league title in 29 years. Instead, he is making himself a punchline in a season where he should be being heralded as nothing but an icon.
