David N’Gog has come under an avalanche of criticism for his recent dive against Birmingham that won Liverpool a penalty. It has brought the issue of diving back into the spotlight and there are those that are clamouring for N’Gog to be given a retrospective ban. Various pundits and journalists have suggested that a three, five, or even ten match ban would be a just punishment for N’Gog. There is no doubt that it was a dive; Carsley made no contact with N’Gog and the argument that he was hurdling the challenge to escape injury carries little weight as if that were the case the dramatic nature of his fall was unnecessary. But the fact that it was a dive should not clear Carsley of his responsibilities.

Carsley is an experienced player, yet he dove into the challenge fully aware of the repercussions should he fail to make a clean tackle. As it turned out, he did not make a clean tackle, he got nothing of the ball or the man. If N’Gog had attempted to evade Carsley’s sliding body and stay on his feet, he would in all likelihood have failed and lost his footing, costing his team a scoring opportunity. Of course this is just conjecture, we have no way of knowing what would have transpired if N’Gog had attempted to stay on his feet. But the fact is, just because Carsley made no contact with N’Gog does not mean he did not impede the player and prevent a goalscoring opportunity. The laws of the game do not require contact for a foul to be given; intent is enough (something that Liverpool benefited from against Sheffield Utd a few years ago).

The clamours for lengthy bans for players who dive seem a little ridiculous; players have had made leg-breaking tackles in the past and received only the mandatory three game ban. To have longer bans for non-violent offences smacks of sensationalism. Not to mention the fact that it is not always clear cut whether a player has dived or not. Would no contact be a perquisite for a dive, and would the merest of contact absolve the accused diver (as in the case of Eduardo)? And what of Mourinho’s and Van Persie’s arguments that sometimes players have to “help the referees make a decision”?

Going back to the N’Gog incident, my honest opinion is that both players committed a wrong. Carsley flew in for a challenge, missed everything, and impeded the striker. N’Gog decided not to try and stay on his feet and dove to win his side a crucial penalty. If only it were possible for the referee to give the penalty and then book N’Gog for diving.