Wenger wants three-match ban for 'divers'

Arsene Wenger wants authorities to clamp down on divers by introducing an automatic three-match ban, it has been reported in the British press.

Arsenal's French manager blamed the influx of overseas players for the diving menace which has plagued English football but reckons locals have caught on to the act fast.

Manchester United’s England winger Ashley Young has come under fire in the last week for winning penalties against QPR and Aston Villa by flinging himself to the ground despite minimal contact from Shaun Derry and Ciaran Clark respectively.

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“Yes, foreign players brought this into the English game. But I must say the English players learn quickly," said Wenger.

He urged FA to get tough on players and believes punishment would serve as a deterrant.

“If an obvious dive is punished by a three-match ban, the players would not do it anymore. I would support it," he said.

He felt Liverpool striker Andy Carroll’s recent dive at Newcastle was an example worthy of a ban and called for a video panel to look at matches.

Wenger also wanted referees to be given the option of examining TV replays to help make decisions.

Click here to read Ferguson admits Young 'played' for the penalty
 
Officials have tried to clamp down on cheating - but in many cases recently they have got it wrong.
 
On Saturday Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez was the latest to be wrongly cautioned after Chris Foy ruled he had dived despite Norwich’s Ryan Bennett clearly catching him.
 
Last weekend, Liverpool’s Luis Suarez was unfairly booked for diving against Villa by ref Michael Oliver, who also waved a yellow card at Villa kid Samir Carruthers, who was clipped by Daniel Agger.
 
But Wenger doubts whether Young would be found guilty even after watching replays although Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson admitted Young "played for the penalty".

“Ashley Young for example against QPR I would not suspend him because I don’t know... has he lost his balance? He has made more of it for sure to get the penalty. This is not an obvious case for me," said Wenger.
 
He added: “The challenge comes from the referee in football. In tennis you have it from the players.
 
“You want to have, at the demand of the referee, TV replays available for any controversial situation.
 
“In some games we would have no demand at all on the referee, in other games three or four.”
 
On the flip side of the coin, Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli escaped an FA charge despite his knee-high foul on Alex Song last week going unpunished.
 
Wenger said: “We have that famous thing that the judgment of the referee is final. But I don’t agree.
 
“We should have a superior committee of ethics who could still punish a player like that because you go home and think he now gets away without being suspended. The whole situation doesn’t make sense.”
 

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