Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has launched a staunch defence of his playing style, insisting he is not a diver.
The 25-year-old, whose game is based on pace and skill, has seemingly gained a reputation for going to ground too easily while in possession during Palace’s relegation battle this season.
Zaha had calls for a penalty fall on deaf ears at Bournemouth last week when he was bundled over in the area from a challenge which he believes would have been a foul anywhere else on the pitch.
And while Zaha can block out the criticism, he is mystified by the inconsistency in decisions that go against him.
“It doesn’t (frustrate) any more. I used to get annoyed or whatever,” Zaha said in an honest interview on Palace’s official website.
“Obviously I have arguments with people on the pitch with all the emotions. I’ve done a one-two, I have gone to run, he has blocked me and I have fallen over.
“Realistically, you know you have blocked me and bundled me over. I haven’t called for a penalty but anywhere else on the pitch that is a foul, so why are you trying to pull me up and say ‘why are you diving?’, because you know anywhere else on the pitch it is a foul. That is what I don’t get.
“Some of these pens that are not given, anywhere else it is a foul. That is the only thing I don’t understand. Why is it a foul in the middle of the pitch but in the box it is not?
“That is the question I ask myself, but I don’t even get involved in that anymore. I just play. If you give me a pen, give me a pen. If you don’t play on.
“The whole penalty thing, I feel just everyone jumps on the bandwagon. I read stuff on Twitter, half of you lot don’t even watch me play, but you come online and say ‘he is a diver’. Actually watch me play and then you will see how often I get kicked.
“I don’t go off the pitch to cut myself just to act like I have been kicked.”