It's ridiculous - I'm holding my head in frustration as much as they're holding theirs. I think your last suggestion is the best way forward. Also, I think they should be booked for simulation if a review clearly shows no contact with the head. After all, it's only concussion that is the concern, a girly slap in the chops doesn't count.
The ball actually him him around top of his leg and that is the area he originally held then swopped to his head at which point he swivelled his head to see if the ref had noticed .
It’s an easy one for var. quick review and next break of play, ref goes back and gives them a yellow for trying to con them. Same can happen with diving. Not sure why fa is so reluctant to do it.
I don't know about Chelsea but I distinctly remember Arsenal's Gabriel J going down like he'd been stuck with a poisoned dart after a slight brush from Tsimikas (season before last). He lay there completely motionless and I was really upset that I may have just seen an 'Eriksen' incident, waiting for players and medical staff to surround him to maintain his dignity. I was genuinely shocked. When he bounced back up I thought it was the most sinister con I'd witnessed on a football pitch. I haven't seen anything as bad as that since but the fake head injuries are happening every game. I don't want to think that managers are encouraging it but if they weren't then surely we'd see less not more.
Cucurella was definitely one of the first I remember doing it, though perhaps his hair was sore. Either with or without the sanction of coaches they must be practising it. If you're genuinely hurt, the instinctive reaction is for your hands to go to the affected part. To ignore the gash on the shin or the ball in the nuts and clutch your head dramatically must take a fair bit of discipline. I fear now that it's a con in the majority of cases, and needs to be punishable like other acts of simulation and deception.
You're forgetting they can't even get offside or interfering with play right, play acting will melt their brain cells!
A booking for simulation already exists. It's used for diving but not for the worst form of simulation which is head clutching. So in terms of where does it stop, it stops with bookings for both of those situations. What other simulations could there be? I don't know.
I think there has to be a decision on what is considered serious enough for VAR to intervene. Cynically feigning a possibly life-threatening injury in order stop play is surely up there as one of the worst?
Tbf, if they start booking them, I'd wager that Oliver would be the first to book a guy that gets carried off with a fractured skull, and Webb will be on Sky a few days later, justifying it to Michael Owen on the basis that the player probably banged his head in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
i need to be clearer which part of other peoples post my reply refers to . I just assume as i know so will other people
