Many expected the USMNT to be this year’s dark horse at the FIFA World Cup 2026. Though their campaign ended 1-4 against Belgium in the round of 16, the USMNT generated significant buzz throughout the tournament, including attracting the interest of former OSU head coach Urban Meyer. Now a soccer fan, Meyer has an issue with a controversial aspect of the game.

“My god, what those athletes can do. It’s phenomenal,” Meyer said on his Triple Option podcast on July 10. “You’re going to lose me as a fan if they don’t stop that. And what I’m talking about is stop flopping around on the field. I know people joke around, say it’s part of the game. Okay, fine. Then you’re always going to be way behind the other sports.”

Flopping or simulation has long been a controversial part of soccer. For coaches like Meyer, who are used to watching players leave the field due to an injury or an injury scare, seeing soccer players pretending to have an injury on the field is unacceptable. Typically, players use it in soccer to get a foul, waste time, or even get their opponent a yellow card. Occasionally, those decisions can even carry higher ramifications, leading to goals if the foul is in or near the 18-yard box.

“I think that’s unfair to the athletes who play the game because the athletes who play the game are great,” Meyer said. “You could solve that problem. If you go down, get out of the game. You’re out of the game for a couple, that happens in football. If you’re going to lie down on the ground, you have to leave the game for a while. I really enjoyed watching soccer, and I became a fan. I never was, but I’m a fan of great teams and great athletes.”

A major moment occurred when the USMNT faced Paraguay in the group stage. Paraguayan winger Miguel Almiron was dribbling towards the 18-yard box when he went down after USMNT captain Tim Ream pressured him. Immediately, the referee took notice and awarded Ream a yellow card, as Paraguay got a free kick from a dangerous position. However, VAR review revealed a critical error: Ream never touched Almiron. It instructed the referee to reverse the yellow card. As a result, the referee booked Almiron for diving.

This year, FIFA has been strict about flopping. According to the laws of the game, a referee’s decision can be reviewed through VAR on “mistaken identity.” In Almiron’s case, for instance, the referee misidentified the foul, and VAR reviewed it since Ream also had a yellow card. In all, according to reports, FIFA is happy with how its officials are handling such situations and finds the already-established rules sufficient to tackle simulation and flopping.

Moreover, the governing body is already using a part of Meyer’s suggestion in this year’s World Cup. If a player goes down and needs medical intervention on the field, they can’t return for at least a minute. For those 60 seconds, their team is down to 10 men. That has reduced instances of medical teams entering the field. In some cases, players even get up after going down with an injury. The other instances of players flopping to earn a foul or a penalty will need better refereeing.