Getting shirty – Was Italy’s penalty deserved?

Great play acting. Was a “could give”, not a “must give”. I personally wouldn't have given it, but that's football. Overall, since the NZ goal shouldn't have counted, it was concessional.

1:1 was the right result. And you barely EVER see ref's mistakes equaling out each other like that.

No, Italy are cheating diving bastards.

And it really shouldn't be that way. The Italian side is filled with some of the best players in the world, simply oozing with quality players with a great flair with the ball and playing honestly they could easily have nearly all the same success they have had playing dirty.

But no, they've turned cheating the ref into an art and a sad mark on the game, just like Christiano Ronaldo's actions against the Ivory Coast and as such, I hope they get knocked out in the first round. There is no excuse for the type of display the Italians showed this match.

nope.

yes, there is some shirt pulling & contact, but not enough to bring a man down – and especially not enough force for De Rossi to fall like he did.

using this ref's logic/criteria, there would be 10 penalties a game.

If the Italians think that amount of shirt pulling is a penalty, then they couldn't complain if 10 were given against them every match.

Agreed, In fairness a draw is probably the correct result. But I'm glad to be a New Zealand supporter – because I could not be proud of Italy and their obvious and repeated efforts to cheat.

Bring on the third ref I say, and lets give red cards to all those that spoil the game by faking.

I dunno, I kind of liked the equation (Fabiano double handball goal = Kaka red card.) That feels fair to me.

A missed offside call that takes multiple slo-mo replays from multiple camera angles is forgivable. Repeated blatant cheating from a top-5 team is not. Italy should be thoroughly ashamed of their “men”.

“cheating diving bastards”…. thank you for your insight into the question posed by the article. feel free to keep your entirely stereotypical view of a football nation.

If we are going to apply the letter of the law (as opposed to the spirit of the law) diving is also against the rule – so, De Rossi should have been penalized as well…

Wild inconsistency in this tournament. Look at this shirt hold compared to the one that Lucio had today or when the England player practically removed the other players pants in (if I recall correctly) the Algeria game. The fix is in, players for the top seeded teams who are well known “champion's league” calibre players can't be called for PKs unless they commit a red card worthy offense.

This also extends to tackles. For example, how many card-able offenses will Nigel de Jong get away with during this tournament.

Italy cheats! They fake fouls in the box. Actors! But bad actors. Italy, as a country, should be ashamed of themselves. They can't win with skill, so the pretend to be fouled in the box. It is pathetic and shameful. Italy should be banned from the World Cup. Feckless poltroons!

True I should have phrased it more as this particular team and the teams which have worn the Azurri's colors for the last so many years. Italy (the national team) has had teams that haven't felt they needed to cheat to win in the past and certainly a number of club teams playing in Italy haven't needed to cheat to win.

But as of late on the international stage, they've been really easy to despise for refusing to play the game instead preferring a game consisting of trying to con the ref.

There's no place for it and to me it disgraces their colors and the massive talent the team possess naturally. A team that good simply shouldn't be playing like the villain team in every sports movie ever made.

Because Brazil and English players never cheat either, right?

The Italian side is filled with some of the best players in the world, simply oozing with quality players with a great flair with the ball and playing honestly they could easily have nearly all the same success they have had playing dirty.

As if your first line wasn't moronic enough, this proves you absolutely don't know one f***ing bit about the Italy squad.

All athletes cheat and no one can deny that. What bothers me the most is how a team with so many talented players (no one can deny that) has to resort to those shameful tactics. It reminds me of the incident between Italy and Australia in the 2006 world cup.

I can see how a modest team like a first ever participant could see diving as an option, which isn't right, because they simply can't compete with their opponent. But, Italy, really? The current world champions should be ashamed of their performance.

New Zealand deserved the win. They gave it all they had and showed more passion. Something the Italian team has been lacking since a few years ago.

Italian prima donna theatrics on the field of football are making a mockery of the game, and of the officials that get mesmerised by their acting. Today the game between Il Azzurri and the All Whites was no exception. DAN SILKSTONE in the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD said it best in his column when he said:
“But Italian football can defy the laws of physics; only here does a small pull backwards on the shirt send a grown man tumbling forwards. New Zealand fell victim to a familiar trick as Italy milked a half-there penalty to even the score.”

The time has come that football must move to stamp out this habit that is undermining the credibility of the game and bringing it into disrepute, and if it can’t be attended to on the field by the officials then it should be attended to by a video official placing offending players “on report” for later judgment. When judgement falls, penalties should be harsh and two-pronged; in the wallet and through compulsory stand-downs. The Australian Rugby League competition provides a proven model that would serve well as a model. Let’s see how long the Hollywood dives and other histrionics would continue if each was likely to be met with a $50,000 fine, and a 2-match stand-down. I predict that overnight this despicable habit would be stamped out!

Wow… what a brilliant tactical analysis. The team “with more passion” deserves the win.

I guess getting outplayed (57% possession), outshot (23 vs. 3), and basically failing to produce anything substantial on the offensive end of the pitch (except for an offside goal on set-pieces) is just background noise. No, clearly the better team today were the kiwis.

And you sir, are the next José Mourinho.

“New Zealand deserved the win. They gave it all they had and showed more passion”. …Sorry this is not kindergarten where participation and passion is rewarded with the most smiley faces

The Italians have made a mockery of FIFA's crackdown on diving. Agreed that NZ do not deserve their goal, the fair result was 0-0, and for Slovakia and Paraguay to progress

I agree it was a technically correct but very harsh decision. A bit like Rodriguez' card on Cahill a few days ago.

Bendleton, relax…you mean to tell me that in WC2006 Italy had no skill on the team, and the only way they win is through fouls commited like the on yesterday? Look at other teams first before you judge Italy for being cheats.

Remember Aus v Italy in 2006? Italy have bad form in this area. Forget the score – I'd like to think the average Italian would be embarrassed by this. They should be.

For me, as long as football continues to avoid penalising cheats theatrics will always prosper over hard fought competition. Why should football be treated any different to any other sport and allow this? My kids now think that diving on the field is the right thing to do…

there was an obvious tactic by the Italians to dive strategically. I have to hand it to them, they are very good at it but that's not really something to be proud of. They realised there was no chance of winning headers over Fallon or Killen so they fell to the ground clutching their faces every time they lost a header (most occasions). What it requires is no shame whatsoever. If other nations were doing this kind of thing, the public would likely not bother with the team as to win like that is not really worth celbrating unless you have some pride.

I think that's the problem – they aren't embarassed by it nor the guy rolloing around on the ground clutching his face while banging the ground with his other hand. It is so ridiculous to most but perfectly normal in the eyes of Azzuri

The problem isn't unique to the Italians, and that's a huge problem for football as a game. Any sport, darts/curling/snooker/crab racing, that doesn't heavily penalise anyone intentionally cheating is disrespecting the fans. Sepp Blatter either fixes this or he's as bad as the poor little Italian bloke who's rolling around on the manicured grass clutching his face when his shirts been pulled.

Sepp Blatter came out after the Italians did this against Aus in 2006 and actually apologised – then did bugger all about it. That's real leadership for you righ there.