Ref Watch: Should Man City’s Erling Haaland and Newcastle’s Fabian Schar have been sent off?
Plus: Why did Crystal Palace’s apparent third goal at Man City not count? Steve Cook’s handball penalty analysed, plus Conor Gallagher’s red card for Chelsea; Jamie Sands also escaped an red card for Rangers in the Scottish Premiership
The Ref Watch panel discuss whether Erling Haaland should've seen red for his challenge on Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen.
The Ref Watch panel discuss whether Erling Haaland should have seen red for his challenge on Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen
Should Erling Haaland and Fabian Schar have been sent off in their respective games this weekend? Dermot Gallagher discusses these and more in Ref Watch.
INCIDENT: Erling Haaland caught Joachim Andersen in the head with a high boot as both went for the ball. No card was shown to the Man City striker.
DERMOT’S VERDICT: Correct decision.
DERMOT SAYS: “I don’t think it’s a red card. It’s a genuine attempt by a player to play the ball. Andersen throws himself in and he’s allowed to do that, but I don’t think Haaland sees him, his boot is up.
“If the referee gives a free kick and a yellow card, it’s enough. It’s reckless, but it’s certainly not dangerous and he hasn’t gone to hurt the player.”
What is the difference between this incident and a similar one between between Sadio Mane and Ederson in 2017 when Mane was sent off?
“One of the differences would be the speed and intensity with which Mane and Ederson ran towards each other. With this one, it’s almost like Andersen comes into Haaland’s space – he doesn’t see him, he doesn’t know he’s there. Mane knew that Ederson was there.
“He also chose to put his boot up for that ball, whereas Haaland didn’t know the defender was coming.”
INCIDENT: Crystal Palace thought they had scored a third goal against Man City. As Ederson was releasing the ball, Odsonne Edouard put his foot in front of it to see the ball roll in a different direction. Jordan Ayew then latched onto it and scored – but the goal was not given.
Joachim Andersen is mobbed after doubling Crystal Palace's lead against Man City
Image: Crystal Palace raced into a 2-0 lead at Man City on Saturday
DERMOT’S VERDICT: Correct decision
DERMOT SAYS: “The goalkeeper, in this situation, is almost a protected species. He’s not allowed to be challenged while he’s in the process of releasing the ball, either by kicking it or rolling, or such like.
“As he’s about to release the ball, Edouard is encroaching on his space. The minute he does that, he’s committed a foul because he has to allow the goalkeeper to release the ball freely. As Ederson goes to bowl the ball, his foot is up, which he can’t do.
“This goes back to Thierry Henry when he pinches the ball off Jussi Jaaskelainen at Bolton, when he was going to kick the ball and Henry did the same thing. So the law was changed to give the goalkeeper that freedom of movement.”
INCIDENT: Fabian Schar caught Raul Jimenez on the side of the leg with his foot, showing his studs. VAR checked it for a red card, but it was not given.
DERMOT’S VERDICT: Correct decision.
DERMOT SAYS: “I’ve read so much about this today, but I don’t think it was the leg-breaking tackle that I’ve read about. It’s not a nice tackle, but I didn’t think it was a red card.”
INCIDENT: Tottenham were awarded a penalty when Steve Cook hit the ball with his raised hand inside the six-yard box. Harry Kane was behind him, waiting for the header. Cook was shown a yellow card rather than a red.
DERMOT’S VERDICT: Fair to give a yellow card.
DERMOT SAYS: “It’s certainly a penalty and certainly handball. He punches the ball, whether he doesn’t know where Kane is, but because the ball is so high, it’s felt that Kane isn’t certain he’s in a position to head the ball into the net.
“Therefore, they gave a yellow card instead of a red card and I think that’s a fair shout.
“They take it into account [a possible push from Kane]. You have to bear in mind, football is a physical contact game, he’s got to challenge for that ball. They come into contact, no doubt, but that didn’t impact Cook touching that ball. He made that choice himself.”
Conor Gallagher Chelsea Leicester
Image: Conor Gallagher was sent off against Leicester at the weekend
INCIDENT: Conor Gallagher was sent off after two bookings in five minutes. The first was a trip or Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, before a tug back on Harvey Barnes. He will now miss the midweek match against Southampton.
DERMOT’S VERDICT: Correct decisions.
DERMOT SAYS: “He tried to pull out after the damage was done – his face says everything. It’s almost like ‘I had to do it’. It’s a yellow card and he already had one four or five minutes earlier. I think everybody knew he was going.
“The referee thought the first one was a yellow. This is the difficulty of subjective decisions because he [the referee] thinks he has gone to grab him and then tripped, so he’s yellow carded and that’s the referee’s choice.
“We talk about tolerance levels and on another day, the referee might have given him a warning, but that referee gave him a card. That yellow card is an indication, really, that you’ve got to be mindful of your next challenge.
“The next one a few minutes later wasn’t wise and in fairness to Conor, you see his face and he knew what he’d done.”
INCIDENT: Leicester had a Daniel Amartey header ruled out after a foul from Harvey Barnes on Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. The Leicester forward had his arms around Mendy’s neck in the build-up.
DERMOT’S VERDICT: A good spot from the officials.
DERMOT SAYS: “It’s a good spot from the referee. I don’t know if he had input from the assistant, [but] if he did, it’s great teamwork. It doesn’t look like a foul at first, but when you see it from the other side, there’s a clear arm around Mendy.
“It’s quite clearly a foul. Whether the referee has got it himself or as a team, it’s the right call.”
INCIDENT: Jamie Sands fouled Ross County’s Jordy Hiwula as he was driving towards the area when the game was goalless and he was already on a yellow card. However, there was no further punishment from the referee, with Ross County manager Malky Mackay calling it “inexplicable” that Sands was not sent off.
DERMOT’S VERDICT: Should be a red card.
DERMOT SAYS: “The referee didn’t think it was a foul, but if he does, it’s a straight red card. At worst, it’d be a second yellow but he plays on, so the referee doesn’t think it’s a foul...TAP.TO.READ MORE.
“I do think it’s a foul and a red card.”
