<p>This play-acting by top professionals is a blight on the game, but seems to happen more on the continent and South America than it does in the UK.</p>
<p>I have heard it called 'gamesmanship' by certain commentators, but it is simply cheating. It is possible more these days than in the past due to rules introduced by FIFA and vigourously upheld by referees to give the players more protection from injury which could be caused by hard players, and whilst I see the need for the game to be played more cleanly, many unscrupulous players take advantage of this in attempting to hoodwink the ref by pretending to be fouled.</p>
<p>These players are a disgrace and obviously shouldn't be on the field if the best way of winning is to cheat by getting free kicks and other players carded by feigning. There is a lot at stake in the modern game but not so much as to cheat.&nbsp;</p>
<p>These are professional players earning huge amounts of money and should have the honesty and integrity to play fairly and without resorting to such pathetic tactics.</p>
<p>I shall of course mention one of the greatest players of all time here, Diego Maradona who despite being the best player in the world was still a cheat after scoring a goal with his hand (proven by TV cameras) and not owning up to it when the ref awarded a goal in a game against England in the 1990 World Cup. This sort of behaviour by a player and players in the modern game who are idolised by kids everywhere makes it look OK to cheat and so propagates the problem from grassroots level up.</p>
<p>Its time FIFA made penalties for feigning much more severe and stopped this disgraceful practise blighting our beautiful game.</p>