Jim Boyce calls diving "a cancer"

FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce has branded diving as "a little bit of a cancer within the game".

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Gareth Bale have been criticised for going to ground too easily in recent matches, but the Football Association are powerless to issue punishments after the event.

Referees have begun to issue yellow cards this season, but Boyce wants a change in the rules to stamp out "cheating".

"I have seen several incidents recently, and I watched the latest Suarez incident two or three times, and to me it is nothing less than a form of cheating," Boyce said in a statement.

"It is becoming a little bit of a cancer within the game and I believe if it is clear to everyone that it is simulation then that person is trying to cheat and they should be severely punished for that.

"It can be dealt with retrospectively by disciplinary committees, and it is done so in some associations, and I believe that is the correct thing to do.

"It can at times be very, very difficult for referees to judge whether something is a foul or a fair tackle and if players are diving then it makes their job even harder."

Stoke City boss Tony Pulis is also an advocate of greater punishments.