[joegrundman]

Football (soccer) is prone to this thing because of the structure of the game.

A single goal can be a very big deal in this game. Getting a good free kick, or better yet, a penalty, by means of a well acted dive can set up goals.

It is particularly the case when a forward is being tackled by a defender, close to the goal, in situations where it is clear that the defender has successfully shut off the attack and there is no major chance of a shot on target this time. Diving becomes best option.

Coupled with this, is that in almost all cases there is no penalty for diving, except in the most blatant cases. In general, the worst that happens to the diver is that he has failed to win a free kick or penalty.

So the situation with the diving issue is that can be summed up as a low risk to high potential reward activity.

There is possibly a cultural component that determines how willing players are to do this sort of thing, but the cost-reward equation is such that it is nonetheless common even with countries like England that officially deplore the activity.