beIN SPORTS pundit Andy Gray has claimed that Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah has to be careful to avoid earning himself a reputation as a diver.
The Egypt international has come under fire from some quarters for supposedly going down lightly for the penalty he won against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
Gray has delivered his verdict: “Did he get fouled, was his shirt tugged? Yes,” he told beIN SPORTS. “Is that enough to have him spinning off his feet? I don’t know. I think he’s just got to be a little bit careful Mo Salah, I really do.
“There’s three or four occasions this season where he’s gone to ground a little too easily. Mo’s just got to be a little careful. Mo himself, because of what’s happened in the press today and over the weekend, he’s just got to be just a touch careful.”
"Mo's just got to be a little careful" – Andy Gray is concerned that Salah is making a name for himself after winning another penalty.#beINPL #LFC pic.twitter.com/mH3YKbrqNg
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) January 14, 2019
OPINION
Careful is, clearly, the buzz word for Mr Gray, here. He does have a point, though. Salah is a world class talent, everyone knows that, but if there’s one thing English football fans and media hate it’s diving. Like it or not, Salah is beginning to earn himself a reputation as somebody who goes to ground too easily. That might be unfair, it certainly is on Saturday’s evidence, but that’s the way he’s being portrayed in some quarters at the moment. Gray is saying he should be careful – fine. But how does he go about doing that? Is he supposed to not go down when he feels contact? If he didn’t do that on Saturday then Liverpool wouldn’t have won the game. Ultimately it shouldn’t even be a decision for Salah. If there is contact then he’ll go down, that’s a natural bodily reaction. It shouldn’t be about making a decision at all. So Gray’s advice, while well intentioned, is pretty pointless in this case.
