Rochdale boss doesn't blame Dele Alli for diving | OneFootball

Dele Alli came in for criticism after he appeared to dive to win a penalty at Spotland on Sunday but Rochdale manager Keith Hill refuses hold it against the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder.

Harry Kane converted from the spot to put Spurs 2-1 up in the dying minutes, only for a dramatic late Steven Davies equaliser to take the FA Cup fifth round tie to a replay.

And speaking after the match, Dale boss Hill refused to criticise Alli and even encouraged the 21-year-old to dive again while playing for England at the World Cup this summer.

“I’m led to believe he [Alli] was looking for it, but why not?” Hill is quoted as saying by The Mirror.

“If players feel there is an opportunity to be gained then brilliant, I don’t hold it against him.

“I don’t blame him and I don’t have a problem with it.

“Whether it’s him, Harry Kane or Ian Henderson, it doesn’t matter who does it.

“If he does that for England in the World Cup this summer then I will definitely be supporting him.”

The League One side will now travel to face Spurs in the return fixture a week on Wednesday and Hill feels a trip to Wembley is just reward for his side’s fine performance on Sunday.

“It was a feeling of reward, not relief, because the performance deserved at least the opportunity for us to go to Wembley for a replay,” he said.

“The first half was magnificent in how we took the game to the opposition.

“It was a test, but I’ve always wanted to do that against a Premier League team and manager – why not take them on and try to win?

“It could have been football suicide but I thought we gained their respect and to score the goal we did was tremendous.

“It was a marvellous feeling for those players to be involved in that first half and I said to the lads at half-time that the second would test them more than they’ve ever been tested but I thought the players were magnificent.”

The winner of the replay will face Sheffield Wednesday or Swansea City away in the quarter-final and should Spurs make it as far as the semi-final, the Football Association will resist pressure to force the Lilywhites to play their tie at an alternate venue.

At least, that’s according to The Times, who reported on Monday that the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea are uncomfortable at the prospect of Spurs playing a semi-final at the stadium which is being used as their home ground this season and could lodge an official complaint should Mauricio Pochettino’s side make it to that stage of the competition.

However, it seems the FA don’t see it as an issue and will not bow to any opposition to the decision.