Kai Havertz slammed by fans for outrageous dive against Crystal Palace

The German's dive didn't go down well on social media

Chelsea attacker Kai Havertz was criticised after he was booked for diving against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday. The German started up front for Thomas Tuchel's side at Wembley, with £97million man Romelu Lukaku on the bench after recovering from a heel injury. Towards the end of the first half, the former Bayer Leverkusen player found himself at the centre of controversy in Palace's box. Havertz made a run into the Eagles' penalty area, before centre-back Marc Guehi came in to defend the attack. The Chelsea forward fell to the ground as the Blues appealed for a penalty. However, referee Anthony Taylor saw things differently as Guehi protested his innocence. The 22-year-old received a booking for the dive, with footage showing that the English defender made no contact with the Chelsea man.

How did social media react?

Former top-flight referee Keith Hackett wrote: "Well done Anthony Taylor for Issuing a yellow card to Chelsea’s Havertz. It was a blatant dive in an effort to win a penalty kick. Taylor was in an excellent position. I hope that his colleagues are watching." https://twitter.com/HACKETTREF/status/1515725166139084800 Another Twitter user added: "Well done Anthony Taylor. Saw the dive, took a second to compose himself and called it it and issued the yellow for Havertz." https://twitter.com/TaintlessRed/status/1515724382093680646 A third wrote: "Horrible dive by Havertz. Should be embarrassed. He’s a top player, no need for him to dive." https://twitter.com/JessamineH10/status/1515724499508936711 Another person said: "Don’t want to hear any Chelsea fan saying anything about Salah going down easy. Havertz is a complete cheat. That was a dive. Cheating. Horrendous." https://twitter.com/edgeofcoaching/status/1515724516365848587 A fifth person stated: "Diving punishments need changing. A blatent dive like that should be a red, not a yellow. Disgusting from Havertz and embarrassing." https://twitter.com/alexanderoldham/status/1515725010832347137 Chelsea opened the scoring against Crystal Palace through Ruben Loftus-Cheek's wonderful strike in the 65th minute, before Mason Mount added a second to secure the Blues' spot in the FA Cup final against Liverpool. Related links:

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