Matthijs de Ligt impressed for Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The Netherlands international made six clearances, two blocks and two tackles on a day where only a mistake from Altay Bayindir cost Manchester United a clean sheet.
However – during his solid display – Matthijs de Ligt angered Ben Foster by appearing to feign injury after a collision with David Raya, who praised Matheus Cunha.
Ben Foster accuses Matthijs de Ligt of pretending to be injured due to fatigue
The man born in Royal Leamington Spa – who made 23 appearances for Manchester United – believes the Dutchman needs to stop faking injuries.
Foster said on his The Cycling GK podcast: “De Ligt was good as well – very good – but I didn’t like the one where David Raya punched it and De Ligt faked an injury to his face. I didn’t like it, and he did the same thing last season, just lying on the floor.
“I don’t get it. How can you just lie on the floor, forget what’s going on around you, and pretend like it isn’t the first game of the season? He’s tired, isn’t he? Big centre-half. He’s got to get back down the other end. He’s a big unit of a centre-half. You can’t do that. You genuinely can’t.”
Referees are told to stop the game immediately if they spot a head injury in order for treatment to take place as soon as possible – although it seems some players are using this rule with dishonest intentions.
The Premier League must implement a new rule
It would be incredibly risky to not stop the game at the sight of an apparent head injury, just in case there is a genuine problem, and delaying treatment exacerbates the issue.
However, this cannot become a tactical ploy, and for those guilty of doing so, punishments are needed.
Of course, it can be hard to decipher whether a player is faking a head injury, but we can at least use VAR to examine whether any contact did take place.
Should a player like De Ligt – who admires Ruben Amorim – be found to have endured no contact, but still opts to roll around holding their head in an attempt to stop the game, the Premier League must consider issuing a fine or a ban.
What Jamie Carragher has previously said about head injuries
Jamie Carragher is another, like Foster, who is growing tired of playacting when it comes to head injuries.
Former Liverpool player and current Sky Sports Pundit Jamie Carragher looks on
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Speaking on commentary duty for Sky Sports during a Premier League clash between Aston Villa and West Ham in October 2023, the man from Bootle said: “Honestly I’ve had enough of this. People are milking this head injury stuff, going down.
“I understand when something’s really serious and you could argue, does the referee know? He’s seen the challenge, there’s nothing wrong with his head, get on with the game.
“It stops the game, it’s killing the game. It’s happened too much. People go down and they just hold their heads because they know the game is going to be stopped because they have lost the ball in a dangerous position and they think it is going to be a dangerous counter-attack.”
It is undoubtedly a tough call for officials to spot who is genuinely hurt, but a revision of this rule certainly needs to take place.