Robbie Fowler has come out in defence of Mohamed Salah following ongoing diving accusations aimed at the Liverpool star.
Salah has been criticised for winning penalties by going to ground easily in recent weeks, but Fowler believes the criticism has been “hostile” and “unacceptable” from some onlookers.
Is the Salah criticism fair? Five key things to know…
- Salah appeared to go to ground despite minimal contact in games against Newcastle United, Arsenal and Brighton over the last few weeks.
- The decision to award a penalty against Newcastle was particularly questionable; Salah was tugged by the arm but his legs gave way.
- Diving in the Premier League has sometimes been put down to the arrival of more overseas players.
- But the likes of David Beckham and Michael Own in the past – plus Harry Kane and Dele Alli presently – have also been accused of diving.
- Salah won all three of the penalties he has scored in the Premier League this season.
Salah’s defenders have pointed out that the Egyptian was fouled in all three of the situations in which he has won a penalty this term.
And Fowler, who concurs with that line of thinking, believes Salah’s nationality is opening him up to more abuse than his English counterparts.
“I was never one for diving – if I had a chance to get a shot off, I’d always take it,” Fowler wrote in a column for the Mirror.
“Yet, I’ve been shaking my head in disbelief at the criticism aimed at Mohamed Salah in recent weeks for what people have been particularly eager to call cheating.
“It’s been sustained and hostile, and I’m wondering why.
“Why it’s been much worse than that aimed at Harry Kane this season, for instance, or in the past say Michael Owen or David Beckham (and I’m not singling them out!).
“We have to be very careful as football fans. We need to stop and think about whether Salah is being targeted for where he comes from and who he is.
“It seems like stereotyping, and possibly because he’s an overseas player. If that is the case, it’s totally unacceptable.”
He added: “Yes, times have changed from when I hated the idea of going down. But, as for the suspicion and stereotyping of overseas players, maybe they haven’t changed enough.”
Fowler: Pogba does the same thing for Man United
To strengthen his argument, Fowler used the example of Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, suggesting the Frenchman recently went to ground to prove he had been fouled.
The former Liverpool striker went on to point out the lack of penalties Salah has scored in the past.
Fowler wrote: “Watching the Arsenal-Manchester United game on Friday, Paul Pogba went through early, got hacked from behind, but didn’t go down and then lost the ball. No free-kick.
“Soon after, goes through again, gets pulled back slightly. What does he do? Of course, he goes down, because otherwise he knows if he tries to get a shot off and fails, he gets nothing again. It is not as simple as people are making out.
“If Salah were this massive cheat people seem to be trying to portray him as, why was the penalty he converted against Newcastle at the end of December the first awarded for Liverpool at Anfield in 18 months? Think about that.
“In that time, he’s scored almost 50 league goals, and not one until this past Boxing Day was a penalty in a home game.
“That penalty against Newcastle almost certainly wasn’t one. But how many should he have had before that but wasn’t given because he didn’t make it clear he’d been kicked?”
The post Ex-Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler hits out at “hostile” Mohamed Salah criticism appeared first on Squawka News.
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