Gary Neville says there will be "anarchy in football" if players are banned for diving retrospectively.
Winning fouls is part and parcel of the game, says Nev
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville believes retrospective punishment for going to ground too easily sets a dangerous precedent.
Manchester United's Ashley Young has attracted heavy criticism in the past week for perceived dives to win penalties; the winger went down in a heap in the 2-0 win over QPR at Old Trafford - earning the hosts a penalty and visiting captain Shaun Derry a red card that was not rescinded - and Young was accused of theatrics again when felled by Ciaran Clark's challenge during Sunday's 4-0 win over Villa.
But Neville believes that ensuring a referee is aware of contact and fouls is something that is embedded in football.
He told
Monday Night Football: "Every dressing room in the country will have a group of players who are told that when there's contact in the box or they get touched, you've got to go down.
"Whether we like it or not, whether it depresses the people at home, if you want the truth then that is fact.
Worldwide
"That happens probably in amateur football, it's happening in professional football, it's happening in the Premier League. He [Ashley Young] absolutely made the most of it, he goes to ground easily, dived - whatever expression you are comfortable with using, Ashley Young did to win that penalty.
"Some of the greatest players that I've ever played with, people who everybody looks up to, we've seen do it. I dived a few times.
"This is not just about one incident in this last two weeks. This is about every single game of football with the greatest players in the world who do this. I've heard people say Lionel Messi doesn't dive - he does. I wouldn't call these players cheats.
"If you're going to ban players retrospectively for three matches every time they go to ground easily or dive, you're going to have anarchy in football."
Deserved
Neville then watched Wigan continue their incredible march towards Premier League survival with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Champions League-chasing Arsenal, as early goals from Franco di Santo and Jordi Gomez sunk Arsene Wenger's men.
Thomas Vermaelen pulled one back for the Gunners in the 21st minute, but a titanic defensive display and the constant threat of Victor Moses saw the Latics follow up their shock win over Manchester United with three points at The Emirates.
Neville said: "I think they [Wigan] will do [stay up] because it's all about momentum and form and they've got great momentum at this stage of the season.
"Roberto Martinez's biggest task now will be keeping those players' feet on the ground because of how they've been playing in these big matches.
"I think Arsenal were beaten by the better team. We've seen Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, because I'm pretty sure Wenger will say the same thing, admit they deserved to be beaten. You've got to hold your hands up sometime and that's the beauty of the Premier League.
"You're talking about a team here who's near the bottom of the league who have genuinely outplayed the first and third in the league in the last five and six days."
