Premier League stars told to 'man up'; Stats reveal average of eight dives a game

Premier League footballers are being told to man-up and grow-up after a study showed 90 per cent roll around play-acting when fouled - and every match includes EIGHT dives. Prima donna footballers have always had a reputation of being softies and now the stats prove it. Boffins were comissioned by Gillette Fusion to trawl through Premier League matches second-by-second to analyse player behaviour and the findings were so shocking the company is now leading a campaign to show sensitive players the red card. - Premier League Results / Premier League News / Premier League Fixtures Players spent an average of 52 seconds per match whingeing at the referee 168 yellow cards were shown last season in the Premier League for dissent, simulation and swearing, with Birmingham City the worst culprits with 16, followed by Portsmouth (14), Aston Villa (12) and Hull (11). Referee Alan Bennett clamps down most on theatrics, dishing out by far the most yellow cards (24) for these offences. The study backs up the image of modern-day footballers as over-sensitive souls, prone to unnecessarily writhing in agony, diving, whining and petulance. Birmingham City defender Roger Johnson was the worst culprit with four yellow cards for these offences followed by Aston Villa’s Ashley Young, Arsenal’s Emmanuel Eboue and Stoke’s Ricardo Fuller.

Source: DSG