Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson defended Wilfried Zaha after their 0-0 draw at Watford.

Zaha was booked for diving during the clash.

But Hodgson said: “Reputation is a dangerous thing – who gives them that reputation? He's suffered badly because other managers come in and they give you [journalists] their version of the story and brand him as someone who dives for penalties, and the more it is written and spoken about, the more the legend is circulated.

“In my long period as a coach, I think I have a reputation as a relatively fair-minded person, and I would point out that he is anything other than a cheat or a diver. He is sometimes far too desperate to stay on his feet because he wants to score a goal himself, and because he moves at such speed there will be times, like in the first half, where he will be unbalanced and the referee saw that and didn't give the penalty, and in my opinion that wasn't one.

“I think it's very unjust the treatment he gets. We are very happy to have him and as much as I wasn't enamoured by his performance in the first half, I was in the second because he played very well."