Marcus Rashford was at the centre of a controversial incident on Sunday afternoon.
Rashford earned Manchester United a penalty just before half-time in the early kick-off in the Premier League. Wayne Rooney stepped-up and put the penalty away to give the home side the lead at Old Trafford.
However, many felt Rashford “dived” to win the penalty, and on the replay there appeared to be little contact between the pacy forward and Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
Marcus Rashford clearly making the most of Fabianski throwing himself to the ground. These English players 🙄
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) April 30, 2017
We’re not allowed show Premier League footage, but here’s some photos of the incident:
And from another angle:
The incident caused a fuss on social media, as the penalty could have a massive impact on the fortunes of both teams as the season draws to a close.
United are chasing a Champions League spot, while Swansea started the day in the relegation zone.
Many on Twitter weren’t shy about labeling Rashford’s tumble a “dive” but the pundits in the BT Sports studio seemed very reluctant to use the term.
No one on BT has used the word "dive" yet. This is why a lot of people think foreign players are treated differently to English players.
— Tony Barrett (@TonyBarrett) April 30, 2017
It could be argued that if Diego Costa was involved in such an incident, the proper football men pundits would be falling over themselves to condemn him.
However, Michael Owen and Dean Saunders, who were on punditry duty for BT, weren’t as forthcoming about Rashford.
Owen said the penalty should not have been awarded, and offered insight into what a striker thinks when a goalkeeper comes rushing out of his goal.
Presenter Jake Humphrey asked was it “too harsh” to say Rashford “dived”. Owen squirmed a little, before qualifying Rashford’s actions, saying it “ends up a dive”.
Whatever that means.
"Your eyes light up" – Michael Owen says it was not a penalty but he can understand why Marcus Rashford went down. #MUNSWA pic.twitter.com/BBe6vagM3b
— eir Sport (@eirSport) April 30, 2017
Meanwhile, Robbie Savage was similarly avoiding using the “D Word”.
'Clever' from Marcus Rashford according to Robbie Savage. Costa or Suarez and it's a dive and he's a cheat. Sickening double-standards tbh.
— Mark Jepson (@markjepson) April 30, 2017
However, over on BBC, Chris Sutton was only too happy to call it a “dive.”
The former Blackburn Rovers and Celtic striker said Rashford “dived” and that it was an act of “simulation.”
Plain and simple from @chris_sutton73…
"Marcus Rashford dived."#bbcfootball https://t.co/NyQmNXDak9 pic.twitter.com/nAWvxuwFbE
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) April 30, 2017
