Wayne Rooney has said that James Maddison was lucky not to be sent off against Nottingham Forest, insisting that the Tottenham man clearly aimed a punch at Ryan Yates.
Although Spurs emerged relatively comfortably winners against Forest, thanks to a brilliant second-half performance, a lot of column inches have been dedicated to the altercation between Yates and Maddison towards the end of the first half.
When the Forest star shoved Maddison, the Spurs man responded by pushing his arm towards his opponent’s midriff, with the 26-year-old falling to the ground and signalling for VAR to have a look at the incident.
Should James Maddison have been sent off?
While VAR decided not to intervene, Nuno Espirito Santo has insisted that the England international very clearly punched his player and should have been given his marching orders (Sky Sports).
That is an opinion that Rooney shares, with the Man Utd legend stating that Maddison’s intentions were quite clear.
The 38-year-old told Optus Sport: “I think it’s a red. I know he didn’t put much power into the punch but you can see from the action he’s brought his arm back, his fist is clenched and he’s hit him in the stomach.
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“So for me, it’s a red card and I’m very surprised VAR didn’t overturn that. It’s the intention. Once you make that action you run the risk of getting a red card.”
Michael Owen was on the fence about the decision, insisting that it was a 50-50 call.
He said about the incident: “I really couldn’t complain either way. It’s not a punch…he definitely makes contact. There is an action, clenched fist and he’s given him a little dig. VAR has obviously looked at it and decided it’s not so clear and obvious that it should be a red card.
“With your manager’s hat on, if you’re the manager you think that’s a definite red card, and on the flipside, if you’re Postecoglou, you’d think, oh there’s not much in that. It’s a real 50/50 I think.”
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While I did feel Yates went down too easily, there is no doubt that Maddison was a little lucky to get away with it. On 50-50 calls, one would expect VAR to ask the onfield referee to re-watch the incident.
Had the referee seen the slow-motion replay on the touchline monitor, he could have decided to hand the Tottenham man a red as incidents like these always look worse in slow-motion.
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