Liverpool legend John Aldridge has jumped to the defence of Mohamed Salah after the Egyptian was criticised for his supposed dive against West Ham United on Saturday.
The Reds may have returned to the top of the Premier League after beating the Hammers 2-1, but the result wasn’t the main thing making headlines in the wake of the game at the London Stadium.
Indeed, the majority of conversations happening in the fallout of the game were about Salah’s perceived dive to win a decisive penalty against the Hammers, with Tony Cascarino coming out with a scathing attack on the Liverpool forward.
However, Cascarino’s former Republic of Ireland teammate has come to Salah’s defence in his column in the Liverpool Echo.
Aldridge claimed that his former peer’s comments on the situation were inaccurate, arguing that the game has evolved beyond the archetypal hardman.
“I used to make sure that if it was a 50/50 ball between me and the defender I would get to the ball first and if he’s soft enough to go in on me, I’m going down and getting a penalty, end of story.” Aldridge wrote.
“Ask Rushie, Robbie or any player, we’ve all done it but it’s drawing the foul. There’s a world of difference between that and going down when there’s no contact.”
Aldridge is right in one sense; Salah had to go down for the foul to even be considered by the referee of VAR. But Cascarino’s point that he shouldn’t have gone down so theatrically is still valid.
There is certainly a debate to be had about whether or not Salah bought that penalty versus West Ham.
Jurgen Klopp believed that it was a foul, but it is seemingly a decision that has ruffled a few feathers.
However, it seems as though the big issue remains the refereeing, in that these decisions are unlikely to be given unless a player goes to ground.
Salah isn’t the first player to do this, nor will he be the last, and Aldridge is spot on when he says that nearly every modern striker has drawn a foul under similar circumstances.
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