Fabio Silva had the goal at his mercy for Rangers against Hearts over the weekend, but he fell theatrically, and John Hartson is not pleased.
Rangers striker Fabio Silva was admonished once more for his diving antics after appearing to go down under no challenge against Hearts at the weekend, with Celtic veteran John Hartson describing his diving as “embarrassing”.
Silva had already made a few enemies in the Scottish game by going down incredibly easy looking for fouls against Celtic in the Old Firm derby at the start of April, but after initially being booked for a dive in the box before VAR overturned the decision as an Alistair Johnston foul – a chance that James Tavernier converted from 12 yards – it encouraged him to do so again.
Many are dissatisfied with his behaviour, but Silva exacerbated his problematic image against Hearts at Hampden Park over the weekend. With strike partner Cyriel Dessers dancing down the byline and squaring the ball for Silva, he appeared to fall dramatically, searching for a penalty, despite the fact that no one was nearby. While he may have only suffered a minor injury, comments from fans and analysts alike have poured in about the event, and now Hartson has spoken out, calling Silva “embarrassing”.
Speaking to Go Radio, via Football Scotland, Hartson claimed that even Rangers players have had to have a word with the Portuguese striker over the incident. He said: “I know, but it’s embarrassing. Even his own players have to have a word with him. After the Celtic game it was banging on the floor and everything. It’s ridiculous. Everyone in the ground is thinking ‘what are you doing pal?’ – it’s embarrassing. And then he does it the following week. We can’t really prove that he dived at the weekend but it was a gaping goal, nobody was behind him.”
Rangers finally triumphed 2-0, with Dessers scoring both before and after halftime to advance to the Scottish Cup final against local rivals Celtic.
With the Gers having already won the League Cup and facing a title battle, the final few weeks of the season promise to be enthralling, with the possibility of a treble for Rangers, albeit a double for the Hoops if they can oust Rangers in the run-in before taking the spoils on cup final day at Hampden Park.
There is obvious talent there, and it’s easy to forget Silva is only 21 years old and has a lot more to learn in his career. However, it appears like the Rangers are not getting the most out of him, and he will most likely leave for pastures new this summer.
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