Antonio Conte admits Pedro dived in Chelsea's FA Cup win over Norwich

'We must be honest and accept Pedro dived,' said Conte

Pedro was sent off in FA Cup replay win over Norwich (Getty Images)

After one of his players fell, you might say Antonio Conte did managers proud. The Chelsea boss took the increasingly rare step of admitting one of his team dived in a game, and said he is trying to make sure his squad don’t make the same mistakes.

The Italian was referring to Pedro, who was one of three players to get booked for simulation in the champions’ FA Cup win over Norwich City in midweek, taking them up to five cautions for the offence in domestic competition this season. That is more than any other team, since Manchester City are next with three, and Conte conceded it is something to work on.

Alvaro Morata and Willian were also cautioned for diving in that match, the former getting sent off along with Pedro for two bookings. Conte did dispute those decisions, and again argued that VAR needs to improve, given how its use did not stop what he felt was a “mistake” of a yellow card for Willian.

“I must be honest, I watched the three situations against Norwich and I think Willian’s situation was very clear – it was a big mistake,” the Italian said. “Then Morata, I think there is a foul. There is a foul. Then you can decide whether you concede a penalty or not, but there is contact. Not a dive. For Pedro, we must be honest and accept Pedro dived. I think the player... in this situation, the player is clever, he’s intelligent to understand when you make a mistake. In this case, Pedro understood this mistake.

“But I think, during the game, the player can be tired, a bit tired, but Pedro’s reaction was to stand up quickly. I think the player understood, at that moment, the mistake (he’d made) and wanted to stand up and admit it was a mistake, ‘I was a bit tired’. But, sometimes we can make mistakes.

“The most important thing is to try and recognise the mistake and try and avoid repeating them next time. If you see, he didn’t ask for a penalty.”

When asked whether he would tell his players to stop diving, Conte did say that VAR has greater responsibility here too. “Yeah but now we are talking about diving, but why aren’t we talking about the big mistake [against Norwich]. We tried always to move the attention on to the mistake of the player, and not the big mistake of the referee – not the one on the pitch, but the referee in front of the video. I always accept a referee’s mistake, and I don’t want to speak about the mistake.

“But if we decide to use the VAR, then you have to use it in the right way. If there is a penalty, you wait a moment, you see it [if VAR is called] and you don’t book the player. He made a big mistake. He booked Willian immediately. No, wait one moment and listen to the other referee: if there is a simulation then it’s a yellow card; otherwise it’s a penalty. If you book Willian quickly and then the [VAR] referee says it’s a penalty, what do you do?

“This new system is fantastic to avoid simulations, elbows, bad tackles, to avoid conceding goals from offside positions. I think this system is fantastic, is great, to avoid a lot of mistakes and give more responsibility to the players on the pitch. But, at the same time, you give more responsibility to the referee on the pitch and the one watching the game. The referee on the pitch must take the final decision in doubtful situations. He has to go and watch the video himself. The final decision must come from the referee on the pitch. Otherwise my opinion is, don’t start to use this system because, if you do, you’re in trouble.”