Ben Mee's tackle on Joe Gomez looked reckless. It was two-footed. He was out of control. And he broke Joe Gomez's leg. But - and this is the point every clod-hopping defender clings to when asked to comment - he "got the ball". The ref waved play on. No red card, no yellow card, no free-kick.
Did the ref get this right? And, more importantly, is the fact that the tackler wins the ball more important than anything else?
In my view, whether you win the ball or not is irrelevant. If you foul the opponent, it's a free-kick. If you do it while obviously not in control, it's a free-kick and a straight red card. Does anyone disagree with this? More importantly, what light can
@PeterGage shed on this?
Comments
A wet sponge and bucket of dirty water administered in a haphazard fashion would have allowed him to run it off.
There are lots of different types of fractures (compound, greenstick etc) but Gomez has a broken leg
Mee is lucky not to be sent off never mind not even booked .. it looks to be from behind and two footed .. never saw this live but the (tiny) photo is damning
If you snap a player in half but get a nick on the ball in doing so, it’s still a foul.
Extreme example but the point stands.
A foul is a foul. Emphasis is on player safety.
Anything the ref considers careless or reckless. Law 12. Foul
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11708/11573224/sean-dyche-defends-burnleys-honest-challenges-against-liverpool
But... it was two footed, both feet off the ground, he "scissored" him. And, on the mitigating side, he won the ball.
For my money, it's a straight red.
If so the damage done (or not) to the tackled player is irrelevant and the tackler should be judged accordingly.
Back in the days Curbs assembled that crap squad he left us with which has caused all our present problems I remember Bryan Hughes making a two footed tackle, winning the ball and receiving a straight red.
It was the West Brom game when Robbie Earnshaw got a hat-trick once we'd gone down to 10 if memory serves me right.
EDIT: The Elk got sent off for a two footed tackle in that match. Bryan Hughes conceded a penalty. I am sure I also saw Hughes sent off for a two footed tackle, as described, but cannot name the match.
There is no control as the player is airborne, I understand why they happen (normally a blood rush reaction to losing the ball or sheer violent intent) tackling from behind was always really fucking difficult and even on the rare occasion I got it right I'd have a foul given against me. I don't want the sliding tackle to leave the game, however we are a good decade into seeing straight reds for what I think of as cowards tackles (planting studs as a defender is clearing the ball, two footed challenges, studs going over the ball) and players should by now know better. Especially someone like Ben Mee who would have played professionally with the knowledge this sort of challenge is going to earn him a red card potentially.
Of course the problem then comes because every hard challenge where another player is sent up in the air fans and players are screaming for red cards when that isn't the case. Also players can get badly hurt from innocuous stuff and referees will punish I'm relation to the injury as opposed to the crime.
Diving, especially diving in penalty areas is something that needs to be really cracked down on and retrospective punishments of actual missed game time issued to offenders
Reminds me of the heavy tackle that Solly committed on one of the Peterborough (?) players earlier this season
It's like saying I was driving on the wrong carriageway of the M25 in reverse, but I didn't hit anything.
Another defender Rob Holding also went off on a stretcher midweek after a bad tackle by Rashford. Could be out for the season
There was a challenge on Gomez about 5 minutes earlier by Brady (from memory) but can't find a clip anywhere that was far more worthy of a sending off and the challenge Klopp referred to immediately after the game.