Wales boss Ryan Giggs makes bizarre 'acting' claim after Man

Wales boss Ryan Giggs makes bizarre 'acting' claim after Man Utd star Daniel James appeared to be knocked out

Monday 14th October 2019


There was great concern after the winger was caught in a heavy challenge against Croatia



There was great concern after the winger was caught in a heavy challenge against Croatia.

Wales boss Ryan Giggs claimed Daniel James was 'acting' after he appeared to be knocked unconscious following a heavy challenge from two Croatia defenders.

There was a great deal of concern for the Manchester United star after he lay prone following a hefty collision with Croatia's Borna Barisic and Domagoj Vida on Sunday night.

The Wales medics were quick to tend to the player and, after a few minutes of treatment and assessment, he was deemed well enough to continue playing.

It came as a huge relief to the Red Wall inside Cardiff City Stadium and to those who had seen what looked on TV to be a serious knock, however Giggs bizarrely claimed James might have added on some extra theatrics.


"Daniel James went down and stayed down with a bit of acting," the manager told Sky Sports after the match.

"But the medical staff went over, he was compos mentis and we did all the checks at half-time and he was ok.

Giggs also called James' play 'smart', adding: "I’ve not seen it (the incident). He stayed down. I say about players being smart, he stayed down but he was fine.

"The physio came over but there was no problem and there was no problem.

"He passed the concussion tests at half-time."

James also clarified the situation after the game, stating he did not lose consciousness following the challenge.

"There was a few tackles flying in but you always expect it in these games," James told Sky Sports.

"I'm fine. I think he just caught me in the head but I didn't get knocked out fortunately."


Wales battled well to come back from 1-0 down to salvage a draw through Gareth Bale's strike late in the first half.

It means their progression through to Euro 2020 is in their own hands now, however it appears likely they will need to win both of their last two games, against Azerbaijan and Hungary.

Giggs is right though, Dan James was acting to try and get Vida sent off, that was obvious as clear as the day is long and is something he (James) needs to stamp out of his game. There's play acting and then pretending youre spark out which is pretty naughty when you think what can happen.

If he had been knocked out that would have been his game over there and then.

Giggs is right though, Dan James was acting to try and get Vida sent off, that was obvious as clear as the day is long and is something he (James) needs to stamp out of his game. There's play acting and then pretending youre spark out which is pretty naughty when you think what can happen.

If he had been knocked out that would have been his game over there and then.

Regardless of rationale for staying down the challenge was a red card offence he deliberately went in to take James out of the game! And there was a similar tackle later on ampadue and he was out of game! whats the chances of two tackles like that in same game?

Giggs is right though, Dan James was acting to try and get Vida sent off, that was obvious as clear as the day is long and is something he (James) needs to stamp out of his game. There's play acting and then pretending youre spark out which is pretty naughty when you think what can happen.

If he had been knocked out that would have been his game over there and then.

Regardless of rationale for staying down the challenge was a red card offence he deliberately went in to take James out of the game! And there was a similar tackle later on ampadue and he was out of game! whats the chances of two tackles like that in same game?

The point is pretending youre unconcious is a pretty shit thing to do and is not something anyone should be doing in any walk of like never mind a football pitch, that's not even up for debate surely.

And foreign players don't fake injuries?

And foreign players don't fake injuries?

There's a bit of a difference between faking an injury to waste time or exacerbate a challenge and pretending you have been knocked unconscious.

I'm not here to unjustly critisize a player, especially one of our own, it was a silly thing to do and he made himself look stupid, he'll learn from it I'm sure.

Giggs is right though, Dan James was acting to try and get Vida sent off, that was obvious as clear as the day is long and is something he (James) needs to stamp out of his game. There's play acting and then pretending youre spark out which is pretty naughty when you think what can happen.

If he had been knocked out that would have been his game over there and then.

Regardless of rationale for staying down the challenge was a red card offence he deliberately went in to take James out of the game! And there was a similar tackle later on ampadue and he was out of game! whats the chances of two tackles like that in same game?

The point is pretending youre unconcious is a pretty shit thing to do and is not something anyone should be doing in any walk of like never mind a football pitch, that's not even up for debate surely.

Nope it isn't.... but the Schumacher tackle is surely? Or you think it was ok?

And foreign players don't fake injuries?

There's a bit of a difference between faking an injury to waste time or exacerbate a challenge and pretending you have been knocked unconscious.

I'm not here to unjustly critisize a player, especially one of our own, it was a silly thing to do and he made himself look stupid, he'll learn from it I'm sure.

Surely James had every right to stay down as a precaution to make sure he was appropriately assessed by the medics to check he was alright to continue? He was completely poleaxed! I don't blame James for staying down at all after that horrendous challenge. The problem here is Giggs for his idiotic comments.

And foreign players don't fake injuries?

There's a bit of a difference between faking an injury to waste time or exacerbate a challenge and pretending you have been knocked unconscious.

I'm not here to unjustly critisize a player, especially one of our own, it was a silly thing to do and he made himself look stupid, he'll learn from it I'm sure.

Surely James had every right to stay down as a precaution to make sure he was appropriately assessed by the medics to check he was alright to continue? He was completely poleaxed! I don't blame James for staying down at all after that horrendous challenge. The problem here is Giggs for his idiotic comments.

Yes think hes chosen wrong words? James was never going to get straight up after that tackle partly to fact the medics were on pitch before he landed and as we know players must not move in such circumstances.. he didn't need to stay down to get player sent off as been suggested the tackle alone should done that it was a harold Schumacher effort.