On Deck: Flopping

On Deck: Flopping

By Weston Irons Posted February 18, 2015

Weston Irons

Flopping. Arguably one of the most irritating aspects of any sport whether it be basketball or football, and one of the sports where it is most seen, is soccer. Flopping is an act where one player deliberately fakes an injury or exaggerates some kind of contact in order to get a call in favor of their respective team, it could almost be considered cheating. Unfortunately, this action is becoming more and more common as now millions of dollars depend upon each game, as well as jobs being on the line, whether that be as a coach or as a player. Leagues and referees are not doing enough to solve this, here is what needs to be done.

The NBA has the right idea of putting an end to this growing problem of flopping. For a player’s first offense, they will be fined $5000, second $10,000, and so forth. This amount could potentially reach $30,000, the maximum amount, after this is reached the player in question could even receive a suspension. The amount of the fines seem like they should just put an end to the problem altogether, at least to the average person, but to a professional basketball who earns millions of dollars a year, this hardly puts a dent in their bank accounts. There is too much buildup to the suspension punishment, so that is very unlikely to occur. The problem boils down to referees and the league being too lenient. If they really wanted to solve the problem they would intensify the consequences for flopping. In-game consequences such as a technical against the team who flopped or even as far as an ejection, would end the problem real quick.

Soccer is where the problem is most persistent. It’s tough to watch a game nowadays without a couple of players diving here and there. The punishments issued by FIFA are a little bit different than the NBA. Soccer players can receive fines just like basketball players but the fine is minimal and it is a lot rarer for a soccer player to receive a fine for diving. Instead, soccer referees are instructed to give yellow cards if a player commits “simulation” (the name for the foul). Two yellow cards in a single game result in a red card, which means the player is ejected as well as suspended for the next game. A buildup of yellow cards will also yield a suspension. Seems like it would solve the problem, right? It doesn’t. Again the problem is the referees being too lenient on these calls and not making these calls often enough. If they could solve the diving problem, soccer would not get as much animosity as it does.

It would be nice to go back to days when games were not decided because of a player diving into the penalty box or faking a hit to the face. Now, it is up to officiating and the leagues to see these problems come to an end.