Micah Richards has slammed Leeds United star Georginio Rutter for what he saw as "cheating" by the Whites forward during the 5-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.
Rutter was brought on by Javi Gracia in the 79th minute with Leeds already having conceded all five goals. The former Hoffenheim man tried to influence the game in any way that he could but ended up making headlines for the wrong reasons after he went down in the box under what appeared to be no contact.
Richards has now labelled Rutter's actions as "cheating" and called for VAR to intervene in similar incidents going forward.
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He wrote in the Mail Online: "Some people call it gamesmanship but let’s have it right for what it is: cheating. I’ve been watching events at games in recent weeks and, as a former defender, a lot of what I have seen has left me furious.
"This tactic of attackers kicking their back legs - as Leeds striker Georginio Rutter appeared to do on Sunday - to try to win penalties is a particular source of anger. I can promise you that if I was playing now and someone had tried to do that to me, we would be having a quiet word in the tunnel.
"Why can’t VAR be used for incidents when there is clearly simulation? Every incident in the penalty area gets checked, so surely those in Stockley Park have the capability to speak down the line to tell the referee on the pitch to give a yellow card.
"The sooner that happens, the better. We saw why football can be so beautiful at Anfield yesterday, with a spectacular game of football [Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal]. We don’t need cheating and diving to be spoiling it for everyone."
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