Does Arjen Robben deserve his reputation of being called a diver?

The incident which has led to Arjen Robben being branded as a cheat

Arjen Robben has genuinely impressed everyone at the World Cup in Brazil, putting in one eye-catching performance after another. What he has also done at the World Cup is make sure he stays in the public eye, thanks to his tendency to fall over very easily at the slightest sign of contact – otherwise called diving.

Robben and his illustrious playing career

Now pushing 30, the Dutchman has always been one of the few players in world football who possessed the ability to enthrall, exhilirate, and sometimes exasperate all in equal measure. He has won all the honours possible at club level, and has been pivotal at all the clubs that he has played for; namely Groningen, PSV Eindhoven, Chelsea, Real Madrid and now the last 5 years, Bayern Munich.

At the same time, he has also been an ever-present member in the Netherlands team all these years, with his pace, power and directness a big component of their attacking repertoire.

From being an extremely talented and pacy 16-year-old to a trustworthy, consistent 30-year-old who can provide the cutting edge, his journey has been quite extensive. He has worked on his game all through these years to hone all that talent of his, but there have been some features of his play that remain a source of strength i.e. his speed, ability to accelerate, a strong left foot and significantly improved upper body strength.

Along with all those strengths are a couple of qualities that even the most ardent Robben fan would have wanted him to slowly eradicate from his game – his preference for taking a shot instead of making a pass and his tendency to go to ground easily. Now, addressing the former is not my intention here, and so I would like to focus on Robben’s theatrics and the reputation that comes with it.

Reputation for being a diver

Simulation, or diving as it is more commonly known, is a very controversial and polarising subject in football and Robben has found himself in these muddy waters more than once. The pacy Dutchman has been at the centre of a diving storm at this World Cup, as his interview after the Mexico game opened a can of worms. The game against Mexico saw Robben involved in multiple incidents inside the box, with one of them resulting in the penalty that saw the Netherlands score the winner.

The fact that Robben admitted to having dived in the box in one such incident in the game completely clouded everyone’s judgement, to the extent that every time he has gone down since has been seen as a dive. Ignored was the fact that one of the incidents in that match saw a double tackle on him inside the box that should have been a penalty, and that the penalty awarded was the right decision, however exaggerated his reaction might have been.

Similarly, the game against Costa Rica saw Robben at his threatening best as he was a pest the whole night. The big difference – he never went down without reason even once in that match. Each one of those free-kicks awarded to the Dutch was because they were fouls. However, the vilification of Robben for “diving” has only increased since the Mexico game. A couple of years back, he was booked for a dive while playing for Bayern Munich, and after the game he came out and apologised for the incident. That and his apology after the Mexico game show that he recognizes that there is a problem.

Diving in modern day football – a result of the playing style/culture?

Come to think of it, he is not the only player to have been accused of diving. Some of the biggest players in the world have had this accusation leveled against them sometime during their careers. A prime example of this is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has cultivated a reputation of having a tendency to go down very easily when faced with the slightest contact. When in England, this aspect of his game was talked about as a weakness, and although he has tempered it a lot, in Spain it is just one of those things, as many players seem to go down easily.

Players like Ronaldo, Robben and Angel Di Maria rely on the combination of their pace and power to go past people, which is different to how, say, a Neymar or a Messi operate (both of whom have also had their moments under the sun), who are fleet of foot, and very good at dribbling in between players. Many a time, when their momentum is disturbed when they are running or changing direction at full pelt, any slight destabilization might cause the entire run/move to fall apart. Another important reason for diving being a big issue now is the fact that players who make the difference, such as the ones mentioned above, have many a time been subjected to rough treatment by the opposition defenders, so it became sort of like a defence mechanism.

So, although this is something very natural, the solution that players have come up with is the act of going down easily on the odd occasion, such that they can derive some sort of advantage. This does not imply that I condone the act of diving, I am simply suggesting that it is something that the authorities need to recognise and clamp down on, rather than let it be.

Many other examples exist that push home the point that diving is more a result of the game becoming cutthroat than anything else. Take Wayne Rooney’s dive against Bayern Munich this year in the Champions League for instance. Or Sergio Busquets’ outrageous dive and ensuing theatrics against Inter Milan in the 2009 Champions League semifinal.

Does Robben deserve to be called a diver?

The winger has transgressed on a few occasions, so yes, calling him a diver might be justified. However, he is also one of the very few to have come out and acknowledged and apologised for his mistakes. Granted, that does not make him a saint, and that FIFA’s recent declaration of no punishment for diving does not help the cause. But yes, it definitely helps acknowledge that diving exists and it is a problem.

But yes, Arjen Robben definitely deserves his reputation of being a diver. Unless there is no contact, there is no reason for a player to fall. Does that do enough for him to qualify being called a cheat?

If so, then maybe there are some more players out there that need to be dealt that hand, as he alone has not played his part in making diving a threat to the game.