STEVEN Schumacher won’t throw the first stone – but he admits a loophole allowing goalkeepers to break-up a game by feigning injury is starting to get beyond a joke.
Wanderers fans let their frustrations show on Saturday when Leyton Orient keeper Josh Keeley sat down and requested treatment half an hour into the game, at which point both sides ran over to the touchline to speak with their respective managers.
It is a sight to which we have grown accustomed this season, with referees facing no choice but to stop the game and allow medical teams on to the pitch.
Bolton repaid the favour in the second half when they were 2-1 up, with ironic cheers going up from the home fans when Luke Southwood knowingly hit the deck.
Schumacher believes most managers now see it as a way to disrupt the flow of a game or to issue some tactical instructions before bringing their players into the dressing room.
“I can’t complain about it because I have done it myself, so I’m not immune to it,” he said.
“It’s a ploy, a tactic that kills the momentum of the game when the opposition is on top and if you time it right you can really affect the game and there’s a chance to get your team in.
“It happens pretty much in every game now, even in the Champions League. I was laughing last week watching one of the Champions League games and thinking ‘we’ll it’s not just in England then,’ so it’s just part of the game now.
“And unfortunately they come out of that little spell better than we did.”
Other managers have also had their say, with Morecambe boss Derek Adams suggesting a temporary substitution could be the answer.
He told The Lancaster Guardian: “I think it’s something the EFL has to look at.
“Mick Horton, our director of football operations, came up with a good point; if the keeper goes down, they have to substitute someone else for 30 seconds.
“We can’t allow goalkeepers to go down uninjured and allow their team to take a break.
“I admit it’s something that I’ve done in the past but it’s a loophole in the game that allows you to adjust the team and speak to the players.
“There has to be something there that makes them think twice before doing it in future.”
Former Charlton and Millwall director Peter Varney also voiced his thoughts on social media recently.
“There is little officials can do if a goalkeeper says he needs the physio but it is done to slow a game down when an opposing team is in the ascendancy or for a coach to make tactical changes.
“I would propose that going forward the referees are required to add to their standard match report the number of times in a match the goalkeeper goes down to get treatment on the pitch and then the FA should review and publish the stats on a regular basis.
“That will highlight the extent of the issue and identify those clubs where it is happening the most and provide the data to inform any rule change required.”
