Striker Kalou rejects 'diver' tag

Posted On Wednesday, 9th March 2011

Kalou tells Blackpool boss he is no diver

Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou insists he is no ‘diver’ – an accolade given him by Blackpool boss Ian Holloway.

Holloway claims the Ivory coast international went down too easily under Ian Evatt’s challenge to earn the Blues a vital penalty in their 3-1 win at Bloemfield Road on Monday.

“Their player couldn’t wait to fall over and the ref couldn’t wait to give it. My defender played the ball and when I grew up that wasn’t a bad tackle,” Holloway said after the game.

But Kalou insisted: “I felt that their defender was going to tackle the ball and so I put my body between him and the ball and he fouled me. Winning the penalty was a great moment for us.

“Blackpool were pushing hard and it was a very physical game so the penalty came at the right time.”

Kalou did not think he was going to get on even when Didier Drogba picked up a knock in the 55th minute.

The striker said: “The manager asked me and Nicolas Anelka to warm up.

“And I wasn’t sure it was me who was coming on but the most important thing is just to be ready for the team when they need you.

“It is difficult when you don’t play for a long time and then when you come on people expect you to make a difference all the time.”

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