Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has accused West Brom attacker, Matheus Pereira of “cheating”, following some of his recent reactions to contact with rivals players.
Pereira caught the attention of plenty for his theatrical response to a pat on the head from Fulham’s Michael Hector in midweek, and did the same against the Terriers on Friday, throwing himself to the ground following a coming together with Huddersfield’s Trevoh Chalobah.
That is something that Whelan appears to be growing frustrated with, despite his admiration for Pereira as a player, and the fact he does not believe the West Brom man is not the only guilty of such behaviour.
Speaking to Football Insider about the Brazilian attacker and his antics with opponents, Whelan said: “That’s one part of his makeup that I guess we’ll have to put up with. It’s just the way he is but take nothing away from him, he is their star man.
“Hopefully players like that will learn – Benrahma did it the other night as well, I hate to see that. They’re good enough players not to have to try and cheat.
“That’s all it is when it comes down to it at the end of the day – it’s cheating, trying to get a free-kick or a foul or a penalty or someone else booked. It’s not the way I like to see the game played.”
Is Whelan's criticism of Pereira fair?YesNo |
It is hard not to agree with Whelan here.
There can be no denying that Pereira has had an outstanding debut season at The Hawthorns, and you feel he will continue to be a key man for the Baggies going forward now that his loan move has been made permanent, but his over-reaction to certain contact is becoming hard to ignore.
Indeed, with the attention he is getting for it at the minute, it could be argued that Pereira is risking getting something of a reputation for himself in regards to diving, which could then make referees wary about awarding fouls to him, and ultimately cost the Baggies if those officials become reluctant to award free kicks and penalties that Pereira actually does deserve, because of his previous actions.
