Was the red card for Christian Burgess justified or not? Observers saw the Union defender throw in, right on Tolu’s face, but did not know whether that was enough to draw a red card. Ex-ref Tim Pots provided clarity.
Pots leafed through the Referee Department’s regulations and came across a description of the phase in question. “Deliberately kicking or throwing an object (or ball) onto the playing field deserves exclusion,” says Pots HLN.
Wesley Sonck wondered at Extra Time what exactly Burgess did wrong. “I think he just throws in,” said Wesley Sonck. “What is he doing wrong? That is the question. It is not smart, but is he doing something wrong? You can throw in. Is this in the rules?”
So yes… The paragraph in question leaves little doubt. “The regulations require a red card for ‘violent behavior’ if it was done with excessive force.”
“If the face is hit, that excessive force is not even necessary. Unless the force used was negligible, then the player must always be excluded,” the rules stipulate.
Pots also thought the red card for Owen Wijndal was justified. Although he does wonder whether it would not have been over if Hazard had not lay down. In Cercle-Club Denkey remained on his feet after a confrontation with Mechele and it was settled without cards.
Tags: Rules provide clarity Burgess controversial red card Football News
