Ghana and Fulham full-back, John Paintsil has rejected claims that he threw himself to the ground theatrically after an altercation with Ricardo Fuller.

Reports had claimed that though there was little contact, Paintsil seemed to have dived in a bid to get Stoke striker Ricardo Fuller sent off last Saturday.

In reacting, Paintsil said: “I really didn’t want to go down but I felt the pain in my nose and so that’s why I went down.

“He shouldn’t have done it but he did. I just have to accept that it’s football and these things can happen in a game.

“I have to say that I was touched and after it happened I was on the floor so I didn’t know what was going on.

“If it happened again, would I still go down? That depends on how much it hurt. If I felt the same pain I did against Stoke then definitely I would, yes.”