Football was supposed to be a physical game, I'm not sure what it is now. Certain clubs have absolutely mastered the art of what is essentially cheating.
On a tangent, I remember having Sky Sports in the late 2000's/early 2010's, and I wanted badly to enjoy watching La Liga but every time I watched the Classico, it just devolved almost instantly into grown men throwing themselves to the floor, time wasting, diving, and subtle kicks on the chance of a counter to break up the flow of a game. It was unwatchable shit, and I've not seen a La Liga game ever since. Now this has absolutely been in England for a long while now but it's getting to Classico-levels of pathetic.
Somehow it reminds me of the Prisoner's Dilemma, whereby in an otherwise fair society, cheaters win vs people playing fair every time. In a fair society you assume everyones playing the same rules as you are, but if they're not, you just have to start cheating yourself or you just look like an idiot. It's a horrendous state for a society (or a game) to be in though: anyone fair minded just stops playing along entirely.