O Mergulho

It just never goes away, doesn’t it? Three days on since “O Mergulho”, or “The Dive” as it would be called back in Eduardo’s native Rio, UEFA have charged our war criminal for “deceiving the referee.” A decision will be reached on Monday, perhaps resulting in a two-match ban for Dudu.

I cannot condone what was done, it really was dreadful. Boruc never made contact with Dudu’s right leg and yes, Dudu deceived the referee with a theatrical performance which would have made seasoned specialists of the “dying swan impression” proud of him. I can sympathise with Celtic and their calls for “justice,” but it is also hopelessly hypocritical in a sense. A fair share of Scottish footballers have dived, yet none of them receives the amount of attention and reprimands Eduardo does get. Rooney and Gerrard, perhaps English football’s two best players, seem to fly every game, but it’s always brushed away with the “he’s let himself down there” line. It seems as if foreigners are the only ones who dive, and judging by such hideous examples as Drogba, Ronaldo and Eboue, I can understand such a perception. But then how come Eduardo, loved by all fans in this country since the horror fracture, has suddenly gone from hero to zero in the nick of time, this being his first ever offence, and yet he is blasted in the way the likes of Gerrard, Rooney, Lafferty, Boyd and McGeady have never ever been blasted, and about to be punished in the way they have never ever been punished. Problem is, he’s foreign and he plays for Arsenal, who few like in this country.

Luckily he didn’t go to this extreme, otherwise imagine what would have been in store for us – and it was also against Celtic.