Is Neymar tarnishing his reputation by going down too easily?

The referees should be the best judge of a simulation.

Brazil have made it to the Confederations Cup final and they can thank god for it. Once they are done with the tournament, they can come and thank Neymar. The poster boy of Brazilian football has been fantastic in the competition and has coped up remarkably well with all the media buzz surrounding him.

It’s part of the job for the professional footballer but to be able to do that at such a young age without a lot of experience is a sign of strong temperament. Diego Lugano’s comments about his ‘diving’ are a part and parcel of the game and he will face many such jibes in his career especially when he begins his career at the Nou Camp.

It is difficult to take the moral high ground and say that Neymar should not do it as it is a commonplace in the game now. Some have even begun to see it as a ploy in the game, something that coaches tell kids to do – to establish contact in the penalty box to earn a penalty. When Barcelona were at the height of their game, everybody said Messi went down too easily.

The important part is that Neymar should be able to play the game fairly and should not be distracted by the fuss being made around his occasional feigned fall. For a player who relies on skills instead of physicality, it is an easy option to fall down than lose the ball. It is the referee’s job to decide if the intensity and execution of the tackle was unfair and he must be allowed to do it without any unnecessary intervention. If he decides that the striker has feigned a fall, has dived to get unfair benefit he has a pair of cards in his pocket that he can freely brandish.

The Brazilian football federation, meanwhile, commented on Lugano’s remarks in an excessively aggressive manner. They said, “What (Diego) Lugano is trying to do when he talks about Neymar is pressure the referee into not punishing the tough tackles that he will doubtlessly make on the Brazilian player. When he questions Neymar’s behavior on the field, Lugano makes the huge mistake of a purported analyst by calling into question something that no football fan would dare to doubt, the talent of Brazil’s No. 10.”

Lugano’s attack, in fact, was rather polite as far as it concerned Neymar and it also took into account the lightweight stature of the star striker that makes it difficult for him to stand and fight for every ball as physical tackles fly in. He was actually more insistent in his assertion that Brazil have severed themselves from the ‘jogo bonito’.

A lot of such jibes will be taken at Neymar and ultimately a footballer will do what it takes to win. That’s what most footballers do may it be Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Gareth Bale or Neymar. It is difficult to walk out there with a lighted torch to seek saints in the increasing darkness that is competitive professional football where the stakes are higher than ever, and every player is playing to a price tag. We can definitively say that his reputation will not be tarnished as long as he continues to perform in the manner he has performed for Brazil so far.