Quote:
Originally Posted by afc wimbledon
To be frank this would have been a bad call even if it was obviously a red card foul, which is why refs will routinely ignore fouls in the box, and if you don't know this you are blind to the nuance that is soccer.
Soccer has always been about flow and competition and refs are supposed to stay out of the game, the only reason a ref should give a red on this would be if it stopped a clear breakaway or chance on goal, if the player was badly hurt, preferably having to withdraw from a game, or if Nani had made several reckless tackles and had been warned or better yet carded already (particularly in a chippy game where a ref is trying to regain control).
None of this applies and so the minutia of what the ref saw is irrelevant, he should have checked to see if the player was badly hurt then given a yellow, the rule of thumb is always to keep a player on.
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this x1000
there was no malicious intent and he hadn't been warned before
it's the reason why certain referees usually get bigger games, they know how to handle it
In England you won't see a 'green' ref given an NLD, Merseyside derby, Man U/Liverpool game etc. because when the stakes are obviously higher you need someone who knows the flow of the game and to not overreact
not only had Nani not had any bad fouls in the game before that, no one had, it wasn't a chippy game, it's the absolute worst time to throw out a red
Howard Webb has gotten some criticism over the WC final, but I have no problem with the intent of what he was doing, he wanted to let the players decide it, and UEFA/FIFA clearly agreed because he's gotten big appointments since then and will continue to do so going forward.