Dele Alli wants to avoid 'cheat' label

It's been a worrying trend for the England international this season, in which he has already received two bookings for simulation in games against Huddersfield Town and Liverpool.

Alli was lucky not to receive a third against Crystal Palace during Spurs' 1-0 win after the 21-year-old was accused of attempting to win a penalty after colliding with goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey in the second half.

However, the mdfielder has insisted that he doesn't intentionally try to deceive officials telling the 'Mirror': "Nobody wants to be labelled as a cheat. It's an opinion and everyone has a different [one]. I get into the box a lot and round [it], and I'm an attacking player and I get a lot of fouls.

"That's the beauty of football. It's all about opinions, but the main one that matters to me is my family's and my coaches. I'm confident in what I believe in, what they believe in and what the manager sees. There are some that look bad.

"It's different when you are in the action. The one at Crystal Palace, that's the one I saw a lot of reaction to. I was running through and, at the time, all was going through my head was that I didn't want to step on the keeper.

"But when you watch it back and people start saying stuff, it can look a lot different. That's why I think it's important that as players, not just about diving, about other stuff too, you don't get too involved in it and just focus on what you are doing".

Alli will be hoping to avoid further controversy when Tottenham take on Swansea City in their FA Cup quarter-final clash on Saturday afternoon.