Hugh Dallas points to players to drive out diving from the game.
| The SFA's head of referee development Hugh Dallas is asking players who are guilty of simulation to cut it out rather than leaving officials to deal with the difficult decision in a split second. High-profile incidents involving Arsenal's Eduardo and Celtic midfielder Aiden McGeady - among others - have marred the start to the season north and south of the border. The issue rumbles on after Rangers striker Kris Boyd was shown a yellow card by Willie Collum after he tumbled in the box without any contact in Wednesday night's Co-Operative Insurance Cup game against Queen of the South at Palmerston Park. Dallas insists the SFA will continue to help referees stay one step ahead of the players but would rather his officials were left to concentrate on other areas of the game. He said: "I don't think it has become more of a problem. I think the important thing is that we continue to train our referees to identify it and punish it. Maybe more attention should turn on the player, rather than the referee for getting it wrong. I think the players must know what they are doing so I think it is up to the players and the coaches although I don't believe that coaches in Scotland are encouraging it to happen. Sometimes a player feels that contact is coming so he goes down rather than staying on his feet. Some may argue that he is not willing to take that tackle, that he is trying to avoid it and there is an argument for that. But the main thing is that we have to make sure that our referees identify it anywhere on the field." | |
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