Diving, flopping and faking for the referee’s benefit have become an integral part of modern football. But Guatemalan player Wilfredo Ramos Pérez has taken the craft to the next level of the absurd.
During a match in the Central American country’s third division, with one player already on the ground, the referee stopped the match for a foul — that prompted a fan to throw an orange peel on the pitch.
While players from the two teams, San Lorenzo and Banatecos, gathered around the referee, Ramos Pérez ran towards the peel, picked it up, and threw it at his own face, pretending to have been hit by an object thrown from the stands. He then immediately collapsed and rolled around on the grass in a — to be honest, quite deft — display of intense agony.
Little did he know that the whole faux citrus scene was being recorded. Footage also shows an opponent pick up the peel and chuck it away, erasing the evidence, which some had mistakenly identified as a rock. More teammates and angry opponents gather around, before the clueless referee arrives.
The Colombian news website Diario del Sur reported that social media users were already drawing comparisons between Ramos Pérez and other players famous for their diving skills, beginning with star player-actor Neymar. Ramos Pérez may not have the Brazilian striker’s soccer skills, but both may have a future in Hollywood — third division.
