London, May 19: England's Football Association (FA) announced on Thursday (May 18) that from the start of 2017-18, the FA will punish any player found guilty of diving inside the penalty box.
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If a certain player deceives a match official into awarding their team a penalty, sending off or any uncounted benefit and both the referee and linesmen overlooked the fact, the situation can be again reviewed by a panel of three people later.
The panel will also look out to simulations that lead to either yellow card or a sent off after receiving two of them in the same game by the referee.
The panel will involve a former manager, an ex-player and former referee, who will review the footage independently and if they are all agreed in assuming the player has cheated the match official, the Board will penalise him with a direct two-match ban.
The panel will also have the authority to rescind the caution or dismissal received by the opposite player. Incidents will be dealt with on a fast-track way under similar models already in place for unseen disputes.
The move has been given a green signal by the English Football League, the League Managers Association, the Premier League and the Professional Footballers' Association and all are ready to implement it from the next season.
An FA statement said: “Although attempts to deceive the referee by feigning injury or pretending to have been fouled is a cautionable offence for unsporting behaviour, the fact that the act of simulation has succeeded in deceiving a match official and, therefore, led to a penalty and/or dismissal, justifies a more severe penalty which would act as a deterrent."
The rule was already in place in the Scottish Premier league since 2011 and the same rule will be implemented across the English football.
England had already introduced goal-line technology and from the next season will also include video assistant referees which will surely bring more equity in the game of football.
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