Premier League: Arsene Wenger calls for FA to ban divers

Arsene Wenger has claimed divers should be banned.

Wenger says the Football Association should set up a three-man committee of a former player, manager and referee and dish out retrospective punishment.

Gunners boss Wenger says a new clampdown is needed with a three man panel to sit after games and decide whether players have dived.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has claimed there is a "campaign" against his club over diving while there have been a string of high profile cases this season.

Wenger said: "I'm against diving. We should punish after the game. The problem will be to decide when it was obvious diving or not. That's a big issue and sometimes it's not obvious.

"There should be a panel and punish only obvious cases, but not mixed ones. And the most suited to this (panel) are people who have an experience in the game.

"Naming alone doesn't work. You have to suspend the players. don't know for how long. It depends. I am not a specialist in this kind of thing.

"But the only way that the players will stop doing it, is if they feel they can get punished. Is it Arsenal, or Man United, or Liverpool or Chelsea, it is for everybody the same."

Chelsea have been involved in a string of cases this season with Cesc Fabregas wrongly booked for diving while Gary Cahill, Diego Costa and Branislav Ivanovic have also been accused of cheating.

Wenger conceded Eduardo and Robert Pires have been involved in high profile cases in the past but believes his current squad - including Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez - are honest and do not dive.

Wenger added: "We had them, with Pires, with Eduardo. It is down to the players. Even if you talk to the players, the guys who have that in them, they will do it in the game.

"Sanchez is the kind of player who will always go on (stay up), because he thinks he can win the ball back again. It is a bit more down to the character of the players."