Liverpool grab last minute equaliser against Athletico Madrid

Did Gerrard dive....do we care?!

Liverpool 1 Athletico Madrid 1

94 minutes into this game and Athletico Madrid must have thought that this Champions League tie was won. After Maxi Rodriguez's first half goal, Athletico defended gallantly in an attempt to preserve the lead and get to the top position of Group D. However Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard had other plans and controversially went down after a challenge with Marian Pernia. The Athletico Madrid players looked around shear disbelief when the penalty was awarded. Gerrard netted the penalty, 4 Athletico players got booked after as they showed their distaste to the referee/linesman's decision.

Predictably Steven Gerrard's actions has created a media witch hunt against this fantastic English footballer. Personally, I think its simple. Diving where there is no contact at all is definitely 'simulation' and can easily result in a yellow card with the use of modern TV replay technology. Where a player goes down where there is contact between two players can raise debate for days after the incident currently - and the game has changed to favour the attacking player in this scenario. Most professional footballers in a tight game will go down in the area if they are contacted by a defender. This is not a new phenomenon and I don't see much wrong with it. This type of activity is much more like gamesmanship in comparison to the traditional diving which originated in South America in the late 1980's as a way of influencing refereeing decisions.

Steven Gerrard may be a player that never excels at the international level but the criticism that he gets is ridiculous and football fans should enjoy his fantastic skills and talent as opposed to elements of his game that most international players possess.