Sam Allardyce has suggested that Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is more likely to dive than Sadio Mane.
The former England manager commented on the debate after Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola suggested that the Senegalese winger sometimes dived to win decisions ahead of Sunday’s clash at Anfield.
Allardyce claimed that when you feel contact you have to go down, and that VAR is now there to help referees if they are unsure on any potential foul.
“I think Mo Salah’s more inclined to do that than Mane,” he said on talkSPORT.
“Certainly last year, was pointed out that everybody felt that Salah was going down a little bit too easy.”
Mane scored the winner in added time against Aston Villa on Saturday to maintain the Reds’ six-point gap at the top of the Premier League.
“Salah is more inclined to dive than Mane in the last year!” ?
“If you get contact you have to make the referee make his mind up.”
“Refs aren’t judging whether the contact is accidental.”
Sam Allardyce on Pep’s #LFC diving claims & why rules don’t stop diving. pic.twitter.com/p6Ok35Lmjn
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) November 5, 2019
OPINION
It does seem strange that Guardiola has singled out Mane in his comments leading up to the game, especially after the year that Salah has had. The Egyptian talisman is usually the player that catches the headlines for going down, after winning numerous penalties last season that led to his side picking up all three points when they might not necessarily have done. Like Allardyce says, you won’t exactly win a penalty now unless you go down, so one way or another it is going to look like a dive. Guardiola should leave it to the referees, who now have all the technology needed to correct or enforce any decisions made during games. In modern-day football, if an attacker feels even a slight brush of contact in the box, nine times out of 10 they will hit the floor and expect a penalty, that is expected and both managers should not get drawn into a pointless debate that will eventually change nothing.
