Ex- Sky Sports regular Richard Keys has received backlash for his thinly-veiled suggestion that Raheem Sterling is winning an extraordinary amount of penalties by diving.
The former presenter took to Twitter to write: "Raheem Sterling has now ‘won’ 26 penalties during his PL career - plus a few in an England jersey.
"That’s more than any other player during the same period. Draw your own conclusions. I hope officials do soon."
However, the general consensus is that Sterling simply wins more penalties than most due to a mixture of his own individual playing style and Manchester City's attacking set-up.
Few teams dominate their opponents quite like Pep Guardiola's men, who inevitably spend more time in opposition penalty areas than the majority of the other sides in the Premier League.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Does Sterling dive to win penalties? Comment below
As a result, the likelihood someone with the playing style of Sterling, who is so often timing perfect late runs into the box, getting fouled more often is greater than that of a different player.
This was the case during City's 2-0 home win over Brentford on Wednesday night.
Sterling was fouled inside the area after Mads Roerslev's clumsy challenge left referee Darren England with little choice but to point to the spot.
The decision made history as it marked the 23rd Premier League penalty that Sterling has won since making his top-flight debut with Liverpool back in 2012.
Keys' tweet has since been flooded with replies disagreeing with his claim and pointing out the number of reasons as to why Sterling has won plenty of spot-kicks.
One user wrote: "What an odd tweet Richard. Sterling has played 310 games, so on average it’s a penalty every 11 games…hardly prolific.
"He runs at pace over 5-10yards better than most, which leads to defenders mis-timing tackles, its a non story...but then again that’s what you are known for."
Another user claimed: "Attacking player wins penalties by attacking defenders in the penalty box. Doing what he is paid to do. Conclusion drawn."
Sterling even received some defence from the unlikeliest of people in the form of a Manchester United fan who took issue with Keys' suggestion.
"I am United fan, and I can confidently say if anything Raheem Sterling deserved more penalties in his career that were wrongfully not given. I don't know why you're trying to imply the opposite," wrote the Red Devils supporter.
Sterling is still only 26 and likely to be brought down inside the area plenty of more times before he hangs up his boots, especially if he remains a City player for the foreseeable.
