text: i love soccer, but i hate all the dives and pretending to be hurt for calls.  does it bother you as well? i can watch the game all day, but the only thing i don't get in professional soccer is the pretending to be hurt.  no one in american football or hockey pretend to be hurt.  are these men greater men?  even if you want to compare rugby, no faking injuries.  someone's professionality should be questioned for faking injury.  i feel that if in a professional match if it can be shown that you faked injury without a doubt that you should be suspended for the next match.    if i win a match because i faked getting kicked did i really win? to answer your second question first, yes, you really did win.  the italians really did advance to the quarterfinals, ghana really did beat the u.s. on a penalty, and likewise with ukraine when they beat tunisia.  now, to elaborate more, in my opinion, that is just awful and disgusting and doesnt mean you can play better football, it means you can fall down and scream like a little girl.  now, for your first question, it bothers me a lot.  a lot.  i prefer people that play because they love to play, because its beautiful, and not people that play because they love to win, which often turns ugly.  for instance, lionel messi had the ball in the box late in the game against mexico, with the score tied 1-1.  he got bumped and touched the ball to far, and instead of falling down, fought for his balance, and then chased after the ball, and almost got it.  i like that style of play.  then, in a later match, whoever that italian player was has the ball in the box late in the game in a 0-0 tie, against australia, and, seeing the australia player on the ground, decides to run into him and fall down, rather than simply step over him and get the ball.  that style of play, i think is gross, whimpy, disgusting, and cowardly.  and, as to your middle part, about why "diving" seems to only happen in football, i cant really say, except that its just the way they think in europe (or so it would seem, i've never been).  as for the teams that play that cowardly style, (italy!!!cough, cough, excuse me) let them win, even let them enjoy it.  if they think that makes them better at football, let them.  because, it is likely that the rest of the world will know they are wrong.  hopefully, for the remainder of this tournament, the referees will really be looking for it, and will not make any poor decisions that affect a match.