Ciro Immobile deserves to be banned for his play-acting against Belgium, former England and Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy says.
The Italy striker was the talk of the town after he 'came back alive" during the goal celebrations for the Azzurri's opener at the Allianz Arena.
When Nico Barella picked up the ball and smashed one past Thibaut Courtois, Immobile was rolling around in the box after going down under the challenge of Jan Vertonghen.
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But when he heard the net bulge and the roar from the Italian fans, Immobile was back on his feet and ran to join his teammates in the euphoric scenes.
Immobile became a massive meme on social media but his theatrics have not gone down well with some. Murphy offered some very strong views on his antics and says he would have no problem banning the Lazio man if it were up to him.
"You see it all the time. That was an obvious one. But I see it all the time. You know when you see a team building up an attack and one of the players is down, in the corner of your eye, especially if you're at a game - you see them get up and get themselves in the box.
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"It happens all the time. If you're talking about diving and trying to manipulate the referee, it's an add-on to that. You're seeing the evidence of that.
"Where do you stop with it? I hate it. I'd have no problem with them being punished for it. I'd ban them, no problem. You'd have to start at the beginning of the tournament and they'd all have to be in it."
Alan Shearer was also fuming with what he saw from the former Juventus and Borussia Dortmund man.
"I don't even want to laugh at that because that is pathetic," the former England striker said on the BBC's coverage.
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"You can see him have a look at the referee before he even goes down. It's pathetically embarrassing, that's what it is!"
Immobile and Italy are in action on Tuesday when Roberto Mancini's side take on Spain in the Euro 2020 semi-final.
Featured Image Credit: BBCTopics: Football, Euro 2020, Ciro Immobile, Italy
