My point is that nothing is preventing us for playing the ref, too. That's why I won't blame the ref. Because a less canny team than Gala probably don't leverage his weakness that effectively. They absolutely rinsed him with the diving about, time wasting and complaining.

It's why players who get fouled start counting the number of fouls towards on their fingers towards the ref. It's to suggest that the ref is allowing the other team to get away with too much without penalising them. It's not a new thing.

I hear this often. What it does is you're building a narrative of "unfairness" towards your team by highlighting the number decisions that go against you. This is an unspoken tactic. But it's absolutely an effective one under the right circumstances (typically, a weak ref).