Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/774426
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 18 JANUARY 2017 20 Sport SPORTTODAY FOOTBALL FA mulls retrospective bans for diving INTRODUCED in 2011, the SFA's rule 201 gives a discipli- nary panel the power to impose two-game bans for acts of simu- lation missed by the match offi- cials or rescind yellow cards for players who were incorrectly ad- judged to have dived. Hearts winger Jamie Walker has experienced both verdicts this season, having served a two-game ban for a dive to gain a penalty against Celtic in August and then been retrospectively cleared of simulation during a game against Rangers in Decem- ber. An FA spokesman said: "The issue of simulation is under re- view and we have a continuing dialogue with other associations about rules and regulations. "We are interested in going to see the SFA to talk about how their rule is working but it is part of that wider conversation." The spokesman added that any change to the rules in England would need support from across the game - managers, players, referees and so on - and would be done via the Football Regula- tory Authority. The general view in Scotland is rule 201 has had a positive im- pact, although there has been some criticism of the apparent contradiction between a player getting a yellow card for an of- fence seen by a referee but a red card for the same offence if the referee missed it. In the past, world football's governing body FIFA has stuck to the principle that matches should be refereed on the pitch, in real time, with any mistakes made by the officials simply be- ing part of the game. FIFA's stance, however, is start- ing to change as it has already approved goal-line technology, is trialling video assistant referees and has not complained about the SFA's simulation rules or the FA's own retrospective punish- ments for violent conduct. That last point is significant as the four British FAs have perma- nent seats on the International Football Association Board, the body that decides on fundamen- tal changes to the game's laws, which suggests FIFA may view these local rules as pilots before wider implementation. Simulation, once one of the great taboos of British football, is back on the agenda after Robert Snodgrass dived to earn a pen- alty for Hull City against Crys- tal Palace last month. The Scot scored from the spot but later admitted he was not touched by Palace defender Scott Dann, say- ing he instinctively took evasive action because of his recent in- jury problems. Snodgrass won this penalty against Hull by diving Van Gaal ends coaching career after family tragedy FORMER Manchester United and Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal has ended his coaching career following a family trag- edy, Dutch media reported on Tuesday. The 65-year-old, who is out of work since United sacked him in May last year, has turned down a lucrative offer from China. "I could have gone there (Chi- na), but I'm still here," van Gaal told De Telegraaf. "So much has happened in my family that I have been forced to look at things differently." The sudden death of his son- in-law had been the catalyst, he said. "I had said (after leaving Manchester United) that I would stop but I changed that into a sabbatical, but now I believe that I will not return to coaching." Asked if he did not have any remaining ambitions, van Gaal said: "No, actually not. I have got everything in my life. I find it boring to mention it all but look at the countries where I have worked and the level of the clubs that I have coached, and there is nothing that remains. "I actually wanted to stop after the World Cup (in Brazil in 2014) but then the opportunity in England came up. And that was a fantas- tic country that is now also on my CV." Van Gaal said winning last year's FA Cup, against the back- drop of his impending dismissal, was the greatest achievement of his career. "I was standing on the gang- plank for the last six months. My head was in the guillotine, put there by the English media. And then in those circumstances you have to try and stick to your vi- sion and inspire the players of Manchester United." Louis van Gaal Valencia stays at Old Trafford 31YEAROLD Antonio Valen- cia has become a key player at Old Trafford since joining from Wigan in 2009, making 271 appearances, scoring 21 goals and winning six trophies. Valencia, previously a winger, has established himself as Jose Mour- inho's first-choice right-back and has now been rewarded with an ex- tended stay at United. A statement from the club read: "Manchester United have con- firmed a clause has been triggered to extend Antonio Valencia's contract by one year, keeping the experienced Ecuadorian at Old Trafford until at least June 2018." United last week announced they had triggered the extension clause in midfielder Marouane Fellaini's contract. Valencia has made 23 appearances for United this term under Mour- inho, who attempted to take him to Real Madrid during his time in Spain. "I tried to sign Antonio a number of years ago, when I was at Madrid," Mourinho told MUTV in Novem- ber. "Even though he was not playing right-back at the time, I thought he could be phenomenal in that posi- tion. As it was, United told me 'no chance!'." Mourinho added: "I am not sur- prised by his form this season. "He has been clean of injuries, save for an operation on his arm which did not keep him out for long, and I have also been able to keep him fresh by resting him in certain Eu- ropa League games. "I think he is the right-back to give us the maximum we can in terms of our attacking football." Antonio Valencia