I don't usually do this, but I'm actually writing a second commentary on Alvaro Saborio's dive from Saturday. Initially, I had saved my criticism for David Gantar, the referee who was duped into calling the penalty and issuing the red card. I still feel like Gantar is, ultimately, the one to blame here. But upon closer inspection, I realize that Alvaro Saborio is getting off lightly. Dude dove, plain and simple, and if this league is now fining people for diving, he deserves to be fined.
VIDEO: Alvaro Saborio’s Dive Deserves Discipline
Check out this video starting at about 2:38. Unfortunately, the MLS-edited video only shows you one shot of the dive, this one gives multiple angles:
This is a slight less comical dive than Charlie Davies' infamous splash-landing, ironically against Real Salt Lake, but it is no less of a dive. This play did feature some ever-so-slight contact, but it was considerably lighter than I thought at first glance, thus my desire to bring it up again.
It has been a weird year for RSL in general and Saborio in particular. Somehow I feel like the tough breaks both have suffered influenced this play, but that can’t even begin to excuse it.
As bad as the dive was, I do want to point out that it took an impressively high level of incompetence to bring it all to this point. Gantar and his assistant referee also need to be called out. The AR, in particular, should have had a near perfect view of the play and somehow managed to correct Gantar’s initial mistaken identity, but not the fact that there was virtually no contact.
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