Divers should be handed mandatory red cards, argues Crystal Palace chairman

Ashley Young: Man Utd forward's dive prompts Palace red card call

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has called for players who dive to be shown straight red cards.

Manchester United's Ashley Young was booked for tumbling over after a challenge by Palace's Kagisho Dikgacoi in United's 2-0 win on Saturday.

Dikgacoi was dismissed when the pair clashed again later in the first half.

"If preventing a goal-scoring opportunity is a straight red then trying to create one by cheating should be a straight red also," said Parish.

Young was booked by referee Jon Moss for the first incident, with replays suggesting the England player had initiated the contact with Dikgacoi.

Referee Moss later awarded a penalty to the home side for a challenge on Young by Dikgacoi, who was sent off for denying a goal-scoring opportunity.

"The only player in the incidents yesterday that was honest was Kagisho Dikgacoi and he's sent off and banned for the next match," Parish added in an email to BBC Radio 5 live's 606 programme on Sunday night.

"Ashley Young's dive and the appeal before put pressure on the ref to give a subsequent penalty that was certainly outside the area and probably wasn't even a foul.

"Ashley Young has a yellow card and three points and we have no points and one less player to pick from for the next game.

"Might have cost us a point that might keep us up. Need to get some momentum behind a straight red for a dive."

Palace manager Ian Holloway refused to discuss the incident following the match, saying his opinion "didn't count", but United boss David Moyes said he would not tolerate diving from his players.

"I don't want my players diving. It's not what I want. Dikgacoi definitely throws his leg out but Ashley put his leg into his leg.

"I don't like the rule where every time it is the last man it means it is [a red card]," added Moyes. "I thought it was harsh."

Last season, 34 yellow cards were shown for simulation in the Premier League, up 14 on the previous season's total and the highest recorded over the previous four years.

Gareth Bale was the player booked most times in the Premier League under the ruling that deals with diving, the Wales international receiving six yellow cards while playing for Tottenham.

The Football Association says that any changes to the rules regarding all issues, including simulation, would come from Fifa, the game's governing body.

It added that it regularly discusses all matters, including simulation, with bodies including the Premier League, the Football League and the Professional Game Match Officials Limited refereeing body.

In July, the FA made a change to its process on retrospective action to strengthen its powers to deal with violent incidents.

The move was made after Wigan's Callum McManaman escaped censure for a dangerous tackle in a Premier League game against Newcastle in March - because an official saw the incident at the time.

Following the amendment, the FA can take retrospective action where officials might have seen an incident of violent conduct but were not in a position to assess it fully.

But there is no suggestion that the FA is seeking to alter how it deals with incidents of simulation.

In 2009, Uefa banned Eduardo of Arsenal retrospectively after he appeared to dive to win a penalty under a challenge from Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc during a Champions League qualifier.

Fifa allow some room for individual associations to make their own decisions within the game if appropriate, and the Scottish FA assesses simulation incidents retrospectively at tribunals.

-BBC