Gary Neville stopped short of saying Mohamed Salah dived to earn Liverpool a penalty against Crystal Palace on Monday night, saying instead that it was a “theatrical dive”.
Under pressure from Mamadou Sakho in the Palace box, Salah went to deck after a clumsy tangle of arms and legs with the defender just before the half-time whistle.
Certain of a foul, Referee Michael Oliver immediately pointed to the spot to hand Liverpool a penalty. James Milner stepped up to convert, handing the Reds a 1-0 lead.
But speaking at half-time, Neville suggested that Salah was guilty of diving – though the former Manchester United defender made sure to pick his words carefully.
“It’s one of those things that if it’s a player in your team, you say ‘go down and win the penalty’,” he said. “But it’s theatrical, a lot of people won’t like it but if it’s against you, you’ll think it’s soft.
“It’s a mistake made by Sakho, he’s too tight, he’s all over him. It is a theatrical fall which we’ve seen a lot of players do but it’s clumsy from Sakho and he’s given Salah a decision to make.”
