Graeme Souness labels Bukayo Saka a CHEAT: Liverpool legend claims Arsenal star ‘dives all over the place’

DAILYMAIL.COM • 54m ago

By LUKE POWER, SPORTS REPORTER 23:44 19 Oct 2026, updated 23:48 19 Oct 2026

Graeme Souness has accused Bukayo Saka of being a ‘cheat’ who ‘dives all over the place’.

And the Liverpool legend believes Arsenal have a strategy of ganging up on referees to convince them that a ‘screaming’ Saka has been fouled.

It is an accusation commonly levelled at the England man, 25, who is often among the most-fouled players in a given Premier League season.

Fans may remember the controversy that erupted in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2024 when he tried to buy a last-minute penalty against Manuel Neuer in a tie which Arsenal eventually lost.

And Souness dug into the winger on Piers Morgan’s Football Uncensored show, leaving his host outraged.

‘Your man Saka dives all over the place. I don’t want to hear about him. The minute he looks like losing possession, he’s down,’ he said.

HOLT: Man City facing HUGE points deduction that guarantees relegation134.4K viewing nowHalliwell's words of advice to Horner when sex texts story broke36.9K viewing now Graeme Souness has accused Bukayo Saka of being a ‘cheat’ who ‘dives all over the place’ Fans may remember his ‘dive’ against Bayern Munich in the Champions League in 2024 Souness says that Saka ‘screams’ when he goes down and that Arsenal’s players work to convince the referee ‘He simulates a foul. Anyone who simulates a foul in my book would be a cheat.

‘He dives when he should be staying on his feet. He’s not alone. So Saka gets tackled, he screams as he’s going down.

‘The referee thinks there’s nothing in that but wait a minute, he’s stayed down. And then worse than that, everyone in the immediate area – all Arsenal players – put their hands up and scream foul.

‘The referee at that point panics and blows his whistle when it wasn’t a foul – his first instinct was the right one.

‘But he blows a foul because he’s thinking, wait a minute, something I’m not understanding here.

‘Simulation is a form of cheating, yes. But it’s all over football today.

‘If you asked 100 people what is it you dislike about the modern game, 50 per cent would say simulation, another 50 per cent would say VAR.’

With the game moving at such speed, it is difficult to always know exactly how hard a player has felt contact, or how a tiny amount of contact may genuinely throw them off.

Saka’s notoriety for diving has lasted for years, but he is far from the only player to have that criticism levelled at him.

The incident with Bayern in 2024 attracted a lot of attention and debate. It initially looked as if the goalkeeper had brought him down, and the winger had got to the ball first.

However, replays showed Saka moving his leg in Neuer’s direction to collide with him to try and buy a penalty – a move which backfired.

Some pundits came down on him with disapproval, with Paola Di Canio telling Sky Sports Italia: ‘He moves blatantly the leg towards Neuer, it’s never a penalty.

‘He didn’t behave as an experienced player. He behaved like a baby with no experience.’

But Rio Ferdinand took Saka’s side, saying: ‘I can’t believe that’s not been given! That is a penalty, I’m in disbelief.’

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