Edin Dzeko: Could Roma star face retrospective action for shameful dive after Pepe confrontation vs Porto?
The Bosnian striker missed several key chances as the Italians lost in extra-time to the Portuguese giants
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One of the flashpoints in last night’s Champions League games came at the Estadio do Dragao when Roma’s Edin Dzeko fell to the floor following a clash of heads with Porto defender Pepe.
Unsportsmanlike behaviour is a pet hate of referees and football’s governing bodies, and UEFA states that it is punishable by suspension if the player’s deliberate simulation has caused the referee’s decision to be influenced.
Euro 2016 winner Pepe is no stranger to a coming together, but Dzeko appeared to make a meal of the contact following a melee between himself and the former Real Madrid centre-back.
After holding his face for a minute or so, the Bosnian striker was soon back up on his feet before Turkish referee Cunyet Cakir brandished a yellow card for each player.
A precedent came when Danny Welbeck appeared to go down easily before converting a penalty against AC Milan last season, so does Dzeko have reason to be worried?
Do the Champions league and Europa have retrospective bans for simulation?
UEFA states that players who dive or feign injury can face a ban as a consequence, a rule that was bought into use in the Premier League by the FA at the start of the 2017/18 season.
In UEFA’s official disciplinary regulations, article 15f states that: “Suspension for four competition matches or a specified period for acting with obvious intent to cause a match official to make an incorrect decision or supporting his error of judgement and thereby causing him to make an incorrect decision.”
In Dzeko’s case, there is no doubt that there is evidence of simulation, but the referee dealt with the incident accordingly by giving each player a yellow card for a coming together.
When two players clash heads the way Pepe and Dzeko did, the referee traditionally gives a yellow card to both players which is the action Cakir took.
Dzeko’s playacting, therefore, didn’t cause the officials to make an incorrect decision.
Pepe was given a straight red card for a clear head butt on Thomas Muller during a match between Germany and Portugal in Salvador at the 2014 World Cup.
Last night’s night’s incident with Dzeko was nothing of the sort, and it is likely that UEFA will take no further action.
Both Pepe and Dzeko stayed on the pitch until the end of the tie, where Pepe had the last laugh as Porto ran out 4-3 winners on aggregate after Alex Telles converted an extra-time penalty to hand Porto a 3-1 win on the night.
It’s the first time in four years that a Portuguese team will compete in the last eight of the Champions League.
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