Burnley’s Dyche seeks bans for diving after defeat at Arsenal

Burnley manager Sean Dyche has called for stronger punishments for diving following Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League defeat at Arsenal, although he did not single out any player for simulation during the match.

Forwards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette scored as Arsenal overcame a stubborn Burnley to maintain their winning start in the season.

Dyche later told BT Sport he was worried about the state of the game with players “falling on the floor, diving all over the place today” before clarifying in his post-match news conference that he did not specifically refer to Arsenal.

“I said I was unhappy with the greater good of the game. Not Arsenal. The game is in a really poor state for players diving, feigning injuries, all sorts. I find it peculiar,” Dyche said.

“I was at a Premier League meeting a couple of weeks ago and they told us that the worst that can happen is a yellow card. So basically every player in the Premier League can cheat at least once a game.

“I don’t know any sport where they tell you that you can cheat once a game. I’ve never seen that in sport before. It’s so poor for the game.”

Asked if there was a way to prevent players from deceiving referees, Dyche said: “Simple. Ban them. It would be out of football within a month.

“If you’re a manager, why would you want to lose your best players? It’s got to the level where it’s every week now. They used to highlight it on Match of the Day. Now, they don’t even show it. That’s peculiar.”