Former Premier League referee Graham Poll has urged the media to not label England international Wayne Rooney 'a diver' despite the Manchester United striker being rewarded with a very dubious penalty at Wembley against Slovakia following a tumble in the box. Speaking in the aftermath of the storm surrounding Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva’s two match ban from UEFA, the former World Cup official stressed that the men in black were often influenced by diving reputations and a fear of being conned.
“The focus on diving is welcome but paranoia needs to be avoided and headlines such as 'Still not diving, Rooney?' are unhelpful and unfair,” Poll told the Daily Mail.
“Wayne Rooney certainly shouldn't be labelled as a diver in the build-up to next summer’s World Cup finals, especially as I remember him as a player who tried to keep his feet whenever possible.
“Once a player is known as a diver it is very difficult to change opinions. They are then often fouled repeatedly with the referee waving play on as he does not want to be conned.”