Stoke City boss Tony Pulis has called on the FA to punish Liverpool’s Luis Suarez after the striker threw himself on the floor before a Stoke player had a chance to recklessly lunge in two-footed, or elbow him in the face.
The Potters’ manager has branded Suarez’s behaviour “an embarrassment” and appealed for the FA to ban him and others who act in the same manner.
He believes that this would stamp out the problem of simulation in the English game, ensuring that his players always have a full complement of the vertical opposition as potential targets for a knee-high challenge.
Pulis told reporters, “Once the lad is on the floor appealing for a penalty it’s going to look a bit suspect if Ryan Shawcross runs full tilt at him and launches in with both feet isn’t it? It’s ruining the game.”
Pulis in simulation rant
The Stoke manager went on, “If he’s on the deck I suppose one of the boys could stamp on him, but where’s the fun in that?”
“People hardly ever get properly injured from being stamped on, the best you could hope for would be a big gash like Rooney suffered recently, but even that sort of thing is pretty rare.”
“And have you ever tried to elbow somebody who’s already lying on the floor?”
“I have. And I’ve had my lads trying it in training but it’s proving tricky,” he added, before ‘unintentionally’ catching a Sky Sports interviewer on the knee with his studs.