The Mexico international insisted he doesn’t seek to get opponents cautioned and blamed defenders for their physical play
PSV forward Hirving Lozano has hit out at critics who accuse him of diving, saying he doesn’t care what they think of him.
Click Here: All Blacks Rugby Jersey
Mexico international Lozano scored 17 goals and provided 11 assists in the Eredivisie this season, but was accused of diving against NAC Breda.
He denied trying to trick defenders into getting cautions, instead highlighting the physical nature of play in the Dutch top-flight.
“If people say I do that [diving] or put opponents on a yellow card, I don’t care,” the 23-year-old told Voetbal International.
“I know it isn’t [true] and that’s enough. It makes no sense to talk to me about one mistake, while so many violations are being committed against me. That’s no different here than in Mexico.
“There you have more to do against different defenders,” Lozano continued, stressing that the Eredivisie defenders are “almost all big and strong boys”.
The winger, who joined PSV from Pachuca in July 2017, also denied seeking contact.
He believes his playing style forces defenders to deal with him physically, and that it his opponents fault if they end up conceding fouls that end with them being cautioned.
“The defenders here [in the Netherlands] are the best players in many teams. I try to help my team with my game and the defenders also want to help their team. So they have to stop me.
“If they cannot do that in a normal way, then they’ll do it in another way. With fouls. They run the risk of getting a card.
“All I want to do is keep the ball with me, I do that by using my whole body. That there is sometimes contact is normal. That so many defenders get a yellow card against me, I think that’s enough.
“The defenders in the Netherlands are sometimes too hard in their tackles, they are often late and pull a lot on my shirt,” Lozano contended.
Of players who appeared 30 times in the Eredvisie last season only one player, Thulani Sererro of Vitesse, was fouled as many times per game as Lozano.
Both players suffered an average of 2.3 infractions per appearance in 2018/19.