BBC pundit Garth Crooks has blasted ‘pathetic’ Liverpool star Mohamed Salah for diving during their 4-3 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Egypt international went down in the box under a challenge from Mamadou Sakho despite there looking to be no contact between the two players, with no penalty being awarded and Salah not punished for his actions.
Crooks has now slammed the 26-year-old for the incident, claiming that Salah will begin to gain a reputation for simulation if he continues to go down easily.
Speaking on Final Score, Crooks said: “It’s pathetic. By the way, why doesn’t Klopp say ‘just play the game?’
“People are going to tackle you in the box but don’t try and kid everybody because what you’re doing is just messing with your credibility. He’s messing with his reputation.
“Very soon, not just the professionals are going to call it cheating but the fans are as well.”
"It's pathetic."
"Salah is messing with his reputation."#LIVCRY pic.twitter.com/kSFvQofeS7
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) January 19, 2019
OPINION
As much as Liverpool fans will want to deny that Salah dived, it was pretty clear that the Egyptian wizard went down far too easily under Sakho’s challenge. And unfortunately this is not exactly the first time which Salah has been caught out for simulation this season, meaning Crooks’ assertion that he is messing with his reputation looks to be spot on. Salah is indeed gaining such a reputation, and as a high-profile player that is the last thing he wants. Eventually he will find that referees begin to deny him genuine free-kicks and penalties due to that reputation. The crucial thing to note here is that Salah does not need to be diving to gain an advantage. His talent and skill is enough for him and Liverpool to succeed, with his performance against Crystal Palace proving that point, and he must cut out this part of his game immediately.
