UEFA Won't Review Any More Diving Cases After Eduardo's
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UEFA DIVING CLAMPDOWN ENDS WITH EDUARDO
UEFA's supposed clampdown on diving has been brought to a halt after just one case.
In an admission that is bound to further infuriate Arsenal after Eduardo was suspended for two matches for diving, the governing body has, reports The Times, 'confirmed that there are no plans to institute a regular programme of video referral for matches under its jurisdiction or issue an anti-diving directive'.
Rather than set a precedent that UEFA are determined to follow, the charge and subsequent banning of Eduardo is thus set to remain an arbitrary one-off, principally motivated by what The Times calls an 'unfortunate series of coincidences'. It would appear, as F365 reported at the time, that Eduardo has only been singled out because he committed his dive in a match against Scottish opponents broadcast on free-for-all television on a day of the week when no other high-profile games were being played.
'Article 10 (1c), which was introduced by Uefa as a consequence of the furore that followed Rivaldo's feigning antics when playing for Brazil in the 2002 World Cup, exists to punish the worst offenders, but there is no appetite at Uefa to mount a wholesale campaign against diving through the retrospective use of video technology,' reports the newspaper.
Arsenal have still yet to decide whether to appeal against Eduardo's suspension, with the governing body unable to provide the club with the rationale for banning the Croatian until later today. To date, all UEFA have faxed to the club is a single paragraph of text that reads, 'Having examined all the documents of the case which the player charged had likewise examined the control and disciplinary body decides that the player Eduardo is suspended for two Uefa club competition matches.'
The anomaly in that judgement is that Eduardo has been suspended for an offence that the rulebook stipulates should only receive a caution. Any hope that the governing body would issue an amendment to instigate a wider clampdown has, unfortunately, already been dashed. 'Although Eduardo's suspension is similar to that which might accompany a red card, Uefa will not now ask referees to send players off for such offences,' reports The Guardian.
While the news will meet with general disappointment, Uefa's handling of the Eduardo case perhaps suggests that their withdrawal is just as well. Of the two faxes sent to Arsenal on the matter, one failed to arrive and the other was sent to the offices of Arsenal Ladies at the club's Hertfordshire training ground.
- Football365
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Wah... Like that sure Arsenal after Eduardo cannot swallow lor...