Such breathtaking ignorance. It's amazing.
First of all, not all footballers dive. It's the Italians and the South Americans who are famous for diving. And certain other characters like Arjen Robben, whose own teammates have expressed displeasure with his histrionics. Did you see any diving by the Germans in the final? Or by most of the other teams? No.
There was even that famous commercial making fun of the Italians for diving, fer chrissakes.
Second of all, footballers not tough? That's just completely ridiculous. They run 10 km a game, and get smacked all over their legs by other footballers with powerful legs intent on getting to the ball first. That seriously bloody hurts. Every human being person who gets kicked anywhere in the legs is going to go down. Everyone. Watch some martial arts some time. That's what footballers are contending with all game, except that they have exponentially more power in their legs than martial arts practitioners.
Third of all, you have to be taking the piss about sportsmanship. My gawd, that is a breathtaking thing to say. I mean, where to begin? When a player goes down and looks like he's staying down, the player with the ball will kick it out of bounds, and then the opposing team will send the free throw back down to the team who originally had the ball when play resumes. It's not in the rule book, and the referee doesn't enforce it. It's just a part of the tradition of the game. How often in the NBA or NFL do players help players on the opposing team up off the floor, or go to them and apologize for a rough play? Never. In football the referee will force two players to shake hands after an altercation. The game must proceed with the spirit of sportsmanship intact. When do you see that in North American sports?
The ignorance in this thread is unbelievable. I mean, nobody cares if you don't like football, but at least get your facts straight.