Well, the reason I dont mind it from Real so much is that they are not as technically gifted as Barca so you can see how they might resort to ruffing things up a bit.
If Barca are so damn wonderful, then they shouldnt have to resort to ANY type of cheating at all.
But whenever they are in an important game, its almost like one of their tactics is to get the opposition sent off.
Not nice to see, and definitely not required from players with such a high skill level.
Its just cynical. I'd like Barca genuinely if they cut out the cheating, rolling around, play acting, and waiving imaginary cards around.
There is no need.
I'm a Barca fan and I dont like it when they exaggerate fouls and roll on the floor. I dont like it when any player does it. But its incredibly rich of Real Madrid to denounce that with people like Di Maria in their team. Pot calling the kettle black anyone?
In any case you have to see their side of things. Because Barca have to face teams that go all out to rough them up and many referees (expecially in spain) dont have the character to keep those challenges under control, a player at the receiving end has no other defense mechanism than get you into the most trouble possible.
Its a fact that referees dont penalise tackles as they should when the guy receiving the tackle doesnt go down. A kick in the shin is a kick in the shin and still a foul if you remain standing, but its become almost accepted that if you dont fall when you receive it the ref will ignore it.
The same with shirt pulling. You are faster than a defender, he pulls your shirt from behind slowing you down and you lose the ball because of it. That obviously doesnt make you fall, but its a foul, but the reality is if you choose not to fall most times the ref ignores that foul, whereas if you fall over, he blows the whistle. What are you going to do?
If I was a talented player and had to spend 90 minutes receiving late challenges, little kicks when the ref isnt looking, and Mourinho making rude gestures as I pass by, I think I'd probably also fall and make it look bad when some guy like Pepe makes a tackle from behind, if nothing else to compensate for all the times he elbows players during a match and gets away with it.
For anyone in any doubt, this is what Pepe is like. He belongs in a mental institution not a football ground;
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