How footballers cheat on the pitch to win matches

Referee Bjorn Kuipers shows a red card to PSG's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, right, during the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Chelsea and Paris Saint Germain at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Wednesday, March 11, 2015. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) Referee Bjorn Kuipers shows a red card to PSG's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, right, during the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Chelsea and Paris Saint Germain at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Wednesday, March 11, 2015. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

By Associated Press March 12, 2015 4 min read

MILAN (AP) – Cheating is rife in football and players get up to many dirty tricks in their attempts to win a match at any cost.

Calls are growing for video technology to be introduced to help referees reach the correct decision, although many methods cunning players use to dupe officials will still slip under the radar.

Technology might have prevented referee Bjorn Kuipers from being tricked by Oscar’s play-acting into sending off Zlatan Ibrahimovic as Paris Saint-Germain eliminated Chelsea from the Champions League on Wednesday in London. It might also have seen Chelsea awarded a penalty and striker Diego Costa sent off.

Here is a look at some of the ways players cheat to try to win football matches:

REFEREE INTIMIDATION