IAN LADYMAN: Mohamed Salah was fouled to win his penalty against West Ham … but then he dived

Graeme Souness was right to say on Sky that Mo Salah dove to win a Liverpool penalty against West Ham. But he was wrong to suggest that no fault had been committed.

West Ham defender Arthur Masuaku attacked Salah’s leg, which is not allowed.

Referee Kevin Friend would have been within his right to award a penalty and then book Salah for exaggerating his downfall. There is no reason why that cannot happen.

Players are often fouled and then thrown in to make sure the referee is clear. It is still a form of cheating and must be punished.

Salah is shaped. He dives. Anyone who can’t see that doesn’t look right and has other flaws too. You can be terribly greedy, for example.

One of the benefits of doing this work is the seating from where you see the early game pattern.

With Liverpool, it is common to see Salah in possession with options left and right. Very often you won’t even consider it. You will simply go ahead in possession with a single thought on your mind. Objective.

At Burnley last season it all went awry when he ignored Sadio Mane. Mane, no doubt fed up with a recurring pattern, lost the plot a bit, ranting against Salah with such energy that he was soon replaced.

Liverpool won 3-0 but the problem was delayed a bit. Salah was eventually called to Jurgen Klopp’s office to discuss it, only to reveal to his manager that he and Mane had already moved in.

So sometimes Salah must be just as troublesome to play as he is against him, but the bottom line is that the Egyptian is worth it simply because great players usually are. At Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo is spoken of with affection. He also dove. And he was greedy too. Maddeningly.

Old Trafford players used to complain to Sir Alex Ferguson, but now he talks to them and they won’t bring it up.

Two of the most team-oriented players of Ronaldo’s time are Roy Keane and Gary Neville, but they will only talk about their drive, their work ethic, and of course the number of trophies (eight) that helped them win. In European competitions, Ferguson faced Ronaldo up front because he knew he wouldn’t work hard enough if United didn’t have the ball.

Wayne Rooney had to substitute on the left of midfield. We can imagine how Rooney felt about it. But in 2008 United won the Champions League and Ronaldo scored in the final. The conversation is over.

And this is where we are now with Salah. He is as irreplaceable at Liverpool as any player has been. When Kevin Keegan left in 1977, Liverpool bought Kenny Dalglish.

If Salah leaves, who does Liverpool buy from? It is not an easy question to answer. Of Liverpool’s 17 goals in the Premier League this season, Salah has already scored seven.

Referees should probably be wiser regarding their propensity to fall to the ground. It’s known for that and it’s not always that difficult to spot, especially now that VAR is an option.

But it is the devil in Salah that is so important to what he does. No one will make excuses to cheat. Officials should be aware. However, players like him will always push the limits of what they can do until someone tells them otherwise. This is unlikely to be a conversation Klopp will have with him any time soon.