Oumar Niasse tapped his shoulder to pinpoint exactly where he was brushed to earn a penalty and it looked minimal in comparison with the painful blow felt by Crystal Palace and potentially the FA in its hope of punishing divers. It will not matter a jot to Palace if the Everton striker is handed a retrospective ban when the game’s authority reviews the tape today, when the southeast London club departed carrying the damage of a crucial two points dropped. Scott Dann was seething for being penalised and accused Niasse of “conning” the referee when the defender lent his body to the right as the striker ran into the penalty area. Deception is rife in the modern game and players put themselves between opponents and…

Source: The Times November 20, 2017 00:00 UTC