Despite losing the English FA Cup final to Arsenal, Chelsea’s manager Antonio Conte has put up a defence of his Nigerian wing-back Victor Moses who was red-carded for simulation.
Rather than blame Moses, Conte has said that the player is not a “cheat” but was most probably “tired”.
Moses was sent off in the 68th minute in Chelsea’s 2-1 loss to Arsenal – eleven minutes after he had been yellow-carded for a foul against Danny Welbeck.
“It’s not a good situation to dive, for sure, but Moses is an honest player and if he did this it’s only because he was tired,” Conte told Skysports.
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“He didn’t want to cheat the referee,” he said. “I don’t think if my player dived he did it with a real intention of doing it.
“There is a lot of tension in these moments and sometimes you could be tired.
“We have arrived at the end of the season and many players are tired, and then there is a lot of pressure.
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Earlier in May, the FA unveiled a new sanction for diving and it would be implemented next season.
The “successful deception of a match official” will see players banned for two games if found guilty of diving to win a penalty or to get an opponent sent off.
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