My son-in-law is a big soccer fan, and I asked him to explain the game to me. We watched a few matches and I found the game interesting once I understood the rules. I’m still a baseball/football/hockey guy, but understanding a sport makes it at least enjoyable. Regarding the flopping, I asked him about that, and he said it’s just a strategy. Players try to get another player a Red flag. I told him I think that’s one of the reasons why soccer hasn’t really caught on in America. We’re about walking it off, but faking an injury.
It would be easy to stop this behavior in an instant. If they added a rule that any injury so “severe” that it stops the game, the player has to go out for the rest of the game. I guarantee those players would pop right back up after being knocked down or falling down. They almost always get back up and play anyway.