I was countering the argument that it wasn't an offence. Then the question becomes if it meets this criteria:
"A direct free kick is awarded if a player commits any of the following offences against an opponent in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force:
- charges
- jumps at
- kicks or attempts to kick
- pushes
- strikes or attempts to strike (including head-butt)
- tackles or challenges
- trips or attempts to trip"
What do you think? Imo, direct free kicks have been given for that sort of thing for as long as I can remember.
But you quoted playing in a dangerous manner, verbatim, which is directly under 'Indirect Free kick' in the laws and the first criteria. It's different as it's a different set of criteria. For direct free kicks, as he didn't receive a yellow card, the ref must have deemed his actions as careless and it's open to interpretation. Personally, I think he kicked the ball in a manner that wasn't dangerous and didn't put Dier at risk - at best, Dier made light contact with his calf.