It’s Time to Change the Rules: Why Diving in Key Matches Should Lead to a Red Card

Today’s incident in the Real Madrid vs Barcelona match clearly showed that football urgently needs changes in its rules.

During a crucial moment, Raphinha broke into the penalty area and deliberately dived in an attempt to deceive the referee. Initially, the referee awarded a penalty, but VAR saved the day — after reviewing the footage, it became obvious that there was no foul. The referee canceled the penalty and showed Raphinha a yellow card.

At FootyRoom, we have to ask: why is the punishment for such an act so mild?

The value of that potential penalty tonight was enormous — the Copa del Rey trophy itself.
In professional football, the chances of converting a penalty are far higher than missing it.
Thus, Raphinha's dive wasn’t just an attempt to gain an advantage — it was an attempt to steal a title.

When a player deliberately dives in such a high-stakes context, he fully understands the risk: if the deception works, his team gains a massive, potentially match-winning advantage. If it fails, he only risks a yellow card?
That is completely disproportionate to the potential reward.

We firmly believe that any deliberate dive detected by VAR in matches of this magnitude should result in a straight red card.
A player must know: if his deceit is caught, he doesn’t just get a slap on the wrist — he lets his team down, leaves them a man down, and may ultimately cost them the title.

At the moment, the punishment is laughable. Caught cheating? No big deal — the game continues as if nothing happened.

Football must protect its integrity. Only serious consequences for deliberate dives will stop players from attempting such shameful acts in the future.

Published by Patrick Jane
26.04.2025