Arjen Robben 'Dive' Prompts Graham Poll to Call for Action Against Bayern Star

Former Premier League referee Graham Poll has criticised Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben for diving during the German side's Champions League victory over Manchester City on Wednesday.

Though Robben failed to win a penalty after going down following minimal contact from Fernandinho, his dramatic fall to the floor did little to combat his reputation as a serial diver. Poll believes Robben should have been reprimanded for his latest deliberate attempt at cheating, noted during the former official's column for the Daily Mail:

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Whilst Fernandinho may have made slight contact with his arm Robben went to ground and threw his legs out behind him making the possible contact irrelevant and the act worthy of an Oscar nomination.

The additional assistant was perfectly placed and was unmoved for the penalty appeal but should have advised his colleague that a yellow card was appropriate.

"

Kerstin Joensson/Associated Press

Poll goes on to state that until Robben receives "retrospective bans, he will continue cheating to try and help his team." He was certainly fortunate to escape a caution, especially after complaining to officials when a spot-kick wasn't awarded.

Robben admitted diving after winning the Netherlands a vital penalty during the World Cup. He went down on several occasions during the round-of-16 tie with Mexico and won his nation a penalty in the dying seconds. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar converted the kick to send the Dutch through and toward a third-place finish that may have otherwise eluded them had Robben not been so quick to hit the deck.

"I must apologise," said Robben after the match, reported by Nik Simon of the Daily Mail. "The one [at the end] was a penalty, but the other one was a dive in the first half. I shouldn't be doing that."

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Despite admitting to deliberately trying to influence the referee, Robben appeared to be up to his old tricks during his brief appearance against City. Pep Guardiola called the former Real Madrid star into proceedings with just 14 minutes to go at the Allianz Arena, per WhoScored.com. Although his natural dribbling skills and zest livened the home side up, the 30-year-old's theatrics gained widespread criticism.

James Masters of CNN was among those to react on Twitter:

Manchester City's official Twitter account also acknowledged the incident during their text commentary on social media:

Football writer Juan Arango suggested that any football fan would welcome Robben's quality into their team, despite his pitfalls:

While City fans will be pleased the correct decision was made and didn't influence the result, Bayern's eventual winner came in equally frustrating circumstances. Former Etihad Stadium misfit Jerome Boateng slammed home a deflected shot in the final minutes to confirm victory for the hosts, leaving Manuel Pellegrini's men with plenty of work to do in the group stage.

City are now three games without a win and face Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday. The home loss against Stoke, draw with Arsenal and defeat to Bayern means there is plenty of pressure on the English champions. Players such as Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri and Edin Dzeko are yet to hit full flow for a squad that is currently missing some of its usual pizazz.

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Joe Hart's heroics certainly stopped City from losing by a heavy margin against Bayern. Unlike Robben, he utilised diving fairly to halt the Germans on seven occasions, per WhoScored.com. Although the visitors held their own for much of the encounter, Guardiola's team always threatened to nick three points in the opening match. City will still be confident of progressing from a group that also includes Roma and CSKA Moscow, however.

Robben's actions will continue to be monitored. Worryingly, it's difficult to accept the player's previous remorse for diving as genuine when he continues to pull the same trick. Although his decision didn't affect proceedings on this occasion, the Dutchman appears unlikely to stop trying to dupe officials in the future.