Liverpool FC Forum

stmichael wrote:Milan's challenge was a shocker, there's no doubt about that, and the red card was fully justified. I don't think it was malicious, but it was late and dangerous, I wasn't surprised when I saw the red card come out of the ref's pocket. Andy Gray made a point on the commentary about it being a stupid forwards' tackle.

But

When you compare it to Hibbert's on Garcia, there is no difference, if anything the Everton defender's was more of a lunge than Milan's - and this guy is a defender. He's supposed to know how to tackle. To be honest I assumed he'd been booked and didn't think anything of it until he got a yellow in the second half and it wasn't followed by a red.

Rafa has not come out and said that Milan's card was wrong, but what he has done is called into question the referee's other decisions from earlier in the match. I for one cannot see how one challenge goes unpunished (in the disciplinary sense) yet the other has the ref reaching into his pocket without hesitation.