Paul Hawksbee shared that he was surprised no one at West Bromwich Albion had gotten Dwight Gayle to apology over his actions in the 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest.
The talkSPORT broadcaster shared he was baffled why the West Brom forward, whose on loan from Newcastle United, had remained silent since being handed a retrospective ban for diving (Source: BBC) and not come out to apologise.
Hawksbee added that apologising may not make much of a difference but on the other hand it could do Gayle a favour because as it stood it was just like he had gotten caught and there wasn’t much that could be done.
“Just one thing Andy while you’re doing that, I was just thinking Dwight Gayle has accepted, they say, a two-match ban for diving and we haven’t heard anything from him,” said Hawksbee on talkSPORT (Friday February 15th, which can be heard on listen again at 10 minutes 30 seconds).
“Don’t you think that would do him a favour, he’s not gonna justify it, yeah (when asked if he wants an apology), basically it might do him a bit of good and I’m surprised that someone at the club has got him to come out and say; that’s out of character, it was the heat of the moment, I’m sorry.
“I’m not sure what difference it would make but…as it stands it’s he’s got caught and what are you going to do?”
OPINION
Hawksbee is perhaps right to be confused why WBA or Gayle haven’t made a personal statement about diving being wrong. While many will go the club and the player are only saying that because he got caught, at least he could argue that he has tried to make amends. Gayle is a very important player for WBA and has excelled at the Hawthorns while on loan from the Magpies this season. This is shown by the fact the 28-year-old hotshot has been involved in a staggeringly impressive 23 goals in his 27 outings and the last thing he needs is to gain a reputation for diving. Gayle will not be helped by this very public condemnation of him play-acting and it’s sure to see referees judge him with much more scepticism in the coming weeks. So when you consider that it’s easy to see why an apology from the Baggies attacker wouldn’t hurt, and it’s also understandable while Hawksbee is baffled by a lack of one. It’s a very easy and quick process to realise a statement, so the broadcaster should feel justified in his opinion.