Premier League: 'We must ban divers' says Arsene Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has called for new measures to punish players who dive in games.

Although Wenger admits to having players who have dived in the past, he insists he is against it in the strongest terms and the decision to dive is down to the player himself.

And the Frenchman has suggested the only way to stamp it out completely would be the threat of retrospective action and banning those who are not punished during matches.

“We should punish diving after the game,” the Gunners boss said. “The problem will be to decide when it was obvious or not because sometimes it is not obvious.

“There should be a panel and the most suited to this are people who have an experience in the game. They should punish only the obvious cases, not mixed ones.

"Naming those guilty alone doesn't work. You have to suspend the players. I don't know how long for, it depends, but the only way that the players will stop doing it is if they feel they can get punished.”

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho recently suspected a campaign against his side after several managers complained of his players diving in recent weeks, before Cesc Fabregas was booked for simulation in Sunday’s draw with Southampton.

But Wenger said: "It is the same for every club. We had them with Robert Pires and Eduardo – it is down to the players.

"You have to choose between being clever and being honest and that is a bad solution. What you want is for a player to play with honesty.

"Once the players start to dive or not to dive, it makes it difficult for the referee. Even if you talk to the players who have that in them, they will do it in the game.” ...SkySports