Cheating Squared

Having just watched Serbia play Ghana it brought to mind something I've thought about for years but never blogged about; the outfield Sebian player jumping like a goalkeeper to handle the ball as it passed over his head in the penalty box. It was a clear cut penalty which the referee spotted instantly, however should things like this be given additional punishments?

What the player did was attempt to cheat. The referee spotted it so he didn't get away with it. But the player being very insistent on his innocence despite video footage clearly showing his guilt is a second attempt to cheat. Surely there should be something in the rules to punish players for this.

You could have an additional penalty of a 3 match ban imposed after the game in addition to the in-game penalty. This wouldn't stop players from deliberately trying to cheat but it would make them think twice about protesting their innocence when caught red handed. Perhaps a 3 match ban would be more suited to a league competition, and a 1 match ban more suited to a competition the length of the World Cup.

This could only work if there was video evidence that clearly showed guilt, which is not always the case.

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