# Faking Injuries in soccer **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 5, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339 "2018-07-05T19:12:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/21 "2018-07-06T13:09:52Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I was being ironic, faking injuries is pathetic. > > Though it’s not the only sport that does it. Baseball does it too, just in a different way. It’s common practice for a player who is underperforming to be sent to injured reserve over some phantom problem to free up a spot. It’s not even a secret. > [The 10-Day DL Effect - The Ringer](https://www.theringer.com/2017/4/27/16038148/2017-mlb-10-day-disabled-list-effect-c162caf13a4b) > > Since everyone does it, nobody calls anyone out on it. It’s just a quietly-accepted thing. First of all, I find it amusing the article uses a picture of Troy Tulowitzki, who is probably the most frequently legitimately injured player in baseball today. He is hilariously fragile. I assure you he’s never spent a day on the DL he was not legitimately hurt. Secondly, this isn’t analogous to soccer at all. Of course baseball teams play with the roster rules to their absolute maximum advantage; baseball roster rules are ludicrously complex, with rules upon rules to try to cut down on the gamesmanship, but millions of bucks are at stake so of course they play with it. But the soccer problem is ON THE FIELD and it’s legitimately getting worse. Baseball teams fooling around with roster movement rules aren’t the same as the game itself being polluted by incessant and absurd diving. Coincidentally I opened this thread minutes after reading a Guardian article saying that diving has reached epidemic proportions in soccer and is distracting from what should be otherwise remembered as one of the best World Cups ever. > [@kayaker](#): > > Terry Bradshaw used it to his advantage a few times, even though it pissed off his teammates. He’d get sacked hard, giving up ten yards, then he’d get up very slowly… Lots of athletes have pulled the “I’m hurt… psych!” trick. There are a number of accounts of Ty Cobb limping in pain when he reached first base, gingerly taking a short leadoff, and suddenly breaking for second on the next pitch and running like the wind. Again, though, tricking your opponent into dropping their guard is perfectly good sports. Diving is unsportsmanlike - the football equivalent would be faking a facemask violation, for instance, in an effort to draw a personal foul and a 15-yard penalty. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/22 "2018-07-06T14:06:50Z")
**RickJay** I hear you. But let’s turn back a moment. If you are a team faced with a highly physical opponent, who is succeeding in breaking your rhythm then there is great incentive to dive to ensure fouls are called especially if the referee keeps his whistle from blowing. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/23 "2018-07-06T14:30:24Z")
Ban slide tackling. Solves 95% of the problem right there. Why doesn’t this happen in women’s soccer? Do they just have more self-respect? “Soccer: where the women play like women, and the men play like girls.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/24 "2018-07-06T15:36:51Z")
If the problem is that soccer doesn’t have enough resting time, then the solution is to add more resting time, not to use fake injuries to get rests. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/25 "2018-07-06T18:55:43Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > That and mercilessly shaming floppers, [like this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNiRwHgF3V8). That was great, I spewed coffee at the crosswalk signal 😃 Another classic [flop shaming commercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ukFUEI5qz8)… ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/26 "2018-07-06T20:58:22Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > That and mercilessly shaming floppers, [like this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNiRwHgF3V8). That’s priceless. “Make a meal of it!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/27 "2018-07-06T22:07:46Z")
Part of it is habit and culture. In South American soccer it seems to be an accepted part of the game, in northern Europe, not so much. At least that’s how it used to be. International tournaments and players playing in leagues with a different culture is what led to faking being defined as a specific offense in international tournaments, but South American players still aim to be the most skilled at both spectacular kicks and spectacular falls. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/28 "2018-07-07T00:15:44Z")
I think the main problem is that scoring is so hard that it becomes super important to try for penalty shots. If something were done to make scoring easier perhaps the incentive would be less. I also suspect that easing on scoring might cool the hooligans. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/29 "2018-07-08T08:17:46Z")
It’s weird. The Croatian keeper faked a hammy for some reason, and the ITV commentators - who you would think had seen it a million times - seemed to buy straight into it. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/30 "2018-07-08T09:49:33Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Part of it is habit and culture. In South American soccer it seems to be an accepted part of the game, in northern Europe, not so much. At least that’s how it used to be. > International tournaments and players playing in leagues with a different culture is what led to faking being defined as a specific offense in international tournaments, but South American players still aim to be the most skilled at both spectacular kicks and spectacular falls. :dubious: [Like that well known South American Jurgen Klinsmann against the innocent Northern Euro Pedro Monzon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaPZnPzmNPA) in the 1990 WC Final? ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/31 "2018-07-08T13:10:27Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > :dubious: > [Like that well known South American Jurgen Klinsmann against the innocent Northern Euro Pedro Monzon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaPZnPzmNPA) in the 1990 WC Final? Because of course one counterexample invalidates a general rule. I don’t suppose there’s any actual data on the subject… ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/32 "2018-07-08T14:19:13Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > :dubious: > [Like that well known South American Jurgen Klinsmann against the innocent Northern Euro Pedro Monzon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaPZnPzmNPA) in the 1990 WC Final? Feel free to doubt it. But your single example is not evidence against my statement that faking used to be more acceptable in some leagues than others. It also looks to me like that was a genuinely dangerous tackle by Monzon, that would have taken Klinsmann out of play if he hadn’t jumped out of the way. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/33 "2018-07-08T20:16:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Hari Seldon** : > > I think the main problem is that scoring is so hard that it becomes super important to try for penalty shots. If something were done to make scoring easier perhaps the incentive would be less. I also suspect that easing on scoring might cool the hooligans. What proportion of goals are scored off of penalty shots, in high-end play? ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/34 "2018-07-08T21:00:46Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What proportion of goals are scored off of penalty shots, in high-end play? Usually quoted statistic is 85%+ of penalty kicks are scored in top flight leagues. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/35 "2018-07-08T21:14:05Z")
Referees should add more injury time to the game. A lot of feigned injuries are done to time waste and disrupt momentum. Rugby used to add roughly double the ‘added time’ than soccer does. I’d like to see 4th officials regularly hold up their board with something like 10 minutes on it. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/36 "2018-07-08T22:13:59Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Why doesn’t this happen in women’s soccer? Do they just have more self-respect? > > “Soccer: where the women play like women, and the men play like girls.” In the USA vs Brazil quarterfinal in the 2011(?) Women’s World Cup, probably the greatest sporting event I’ve ever watched, a remarkable number of Brazilian players suffered extremely painful injuries and then immediately recovered. Oddly, this happened only once their team was leading very late in the game. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/37 "2018-07-08T23:56:50Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Usually quoted statistic is 85%+ of penalty kicks are scored in top flight leagues. I think he meant, what proportion of all goals scored happen to be from PKs? (i.e., if 1000 goals a season, and 300 via a penalty shot, then 30%) ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/38 "2018-07-08T23:58:03Z")
While we’re at it, a Mexican halftime show features the Neymar Challenge: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CQBJ0QGn57c/hqdefault.jpg "Meksika kulübü Club Tijuana, devre arasında 'Neymar Challenge' düzenledi! :)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQBJ0QGn57c) ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/39 "2018-07-09T00:33:01Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I think he meant, what proportion of all goals scored happen to be from PKs? (i.e., if 1000 goals a season, and 300 via a penalty shot, then 30%) Somehow I cant find good numbers, but penalty kicks are still somewhat rare. [This year is going to be an outlier](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbssports.com/soccer/world-cup/news/thanks-to-var-the-world-cup-record-for-most-penalty-kicks-has-been-shattered-in-russia-2018-group-stage/amp/), but a normal world cup seems to have 12-18 penalty kicks. If 75% are converted, then they account for 5 to 10% of all goals scored, depending on the year. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339/40 "2018-07-09T01:40:51Z")
It’s an outlier since VAR has shown that the refs have been too stingy in awarding penalties. As I think Vox pointed out rather dryly, one of the reasons players fall so theatrically is to point out fouls. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/faking-injuries-in-soccer/817339.md?page=3)