One element of the beautiful game that holds some sports fans back from totally embracing it is the disgraceful culture of acting and diving.  A fingerpoke may cause a player to crumple to the ground.  Incidental contact to the foot or ankle will cause a player to writhe on the ground in agony until he miraculously recovers and heals in seconds.  

For all the great football played at Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, the amount of flopping and threateningly gathering around the referee is an insult to the game.  One of the worst offenders of this sort of behavior is Real Madrid defender Pepe.  

In Real Madrid’s game against Valencia this weekend, Pepe makes a tackle and then gets tapped from behind.  Unsurprisingly, Pepe goes down like his leg has been blown off by a cannonball.  Real Madrid teammate Alvaro Arbeloa tries to get Pepe to stop embarrassing himself and get off the ground, but Pepe kicks out at him.  (It’s a shame he wasn’t red carded for that.)  The absurd scene leaves the Sky Sports announcers calling the game to laugh at Pepe’s ridiculous antics…


 

“He knows what’s coming from Pepe, we all do.”

“Honestly, it gets worse, doesn’t it.”

“Big, tough center half.”

I can only hope more announcers treat this kind of diving with the mockery and derision it deserves.

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