Former Liverpool man, Graeme Souness, has hit out at Arsenal star, Bukayo Saka, describing him as ‘a cheat’ who ‘dives all over the place’.
The Liverpool legend criticized the England international following Sunday’s victory against Nottingham Forest, during which Neco Williams received a yellow card for a challenge involving minimal contact with his opponent.
Saka frequently appears among the Premier League’s most-fouled player rankings; however, Souness contends that he engages in exaggeration, while his colleagues drew the 73-year-old’s criticism for exerting pressure and attempting to sway the match officials.
Souness stated this on Piers Morgan’s Football Uncensored program, saying, “Your player Saka engages in diving throughout matches. I prefer not to discuss him. The moment he appears to lose possession, he falls to the ground.”
“He simulates a foul. Anyone who simulates a foul in my book would be a cheat.
“He dives when he should be staying on his feet. He’s not alone. So Saka gets tackled, he screams as he’s going down.
“The referee perceives nothing wrong with that, but consider this: he remains on the ground. Furthermore, what is worse, every Arsenal player in the vicinity—all of them—raise their hands and shout foul.
“At that moment, the referee becomes anxious and sounds his whistle despite there being no foul—his initial judgment was accurate.
“Simulation is a form of cheating, yes. But it’s all over football today.
“However, he calls a foul because he is thinking, wait, something is unclear to me here.”