walker never ever even raised his arm.....no elbow at all
sneiderlin catches aguero with the follow through...out of control and dangrrous play...exactly what walker got his first (deserved) yellow for
I think Sneiderlin catches Aguero twice. First time is top of Aguero's foot and second is the back leg follow through. It is a tackle from behind, even though he might want to say it was from th side, and it got the man. It's a yellow card all day, unless the ref wants to see it as reckless or uncontrolled, which I don't see.
What pisses me off more is that neither of Walker's "fouls" were even fouls, let alone yellow cards. His challenge on Baines wasn't! As in wasn't a challenge and never touched him! Even Baines knew it, as he just jumped in the air toavoid any contact at all and then lay on his back waiting for the yellow to be given. Tbf, he didn't roll around or feign injury. No, he just lay on his back, legs bent, knees in the air and waited for Madley to do the easy thing...and Madley fell for it!
On Walkers second, it appears that everyone is focusing on Walker looking at the man, but I'm not sure why that is a foul??? He looked to see where he was, whether he was coming hard, whether he was even jumping. Hesaw hewasnt coming hard and wasn't jumping so he put some "body" in the challenge to make sure he didn't get hurt! People who have not played, or who didn't play in a rough and tumble position, seem not to understand 75% of what goes on between players. There is a constant physical battle taking place on the field the entire game. There was nothing malicious, dirty or willful in the challenge. There was no arm out (as Ota got in the face later in the game and for which Sergio got a retrospective red last season!) and no elbow raised. It was simple body to body challenge of a man's body against that of a tall young lad. I'm convinced Madley asked Oliver, or Oliver simply told Madley it was a foul, but you can see it a thousand times and it isn't even a foul, let alone a yellow, and let alone a SECOND yellow, which normally has to be a little worse or obvious than a first yellow (I know, technically no difference, but everyone knows what I'm saying!).
I actually can't remember Sneiderlin's first yellow, but I find it difficult he can have much trouble with the second one. Any time you come through the back of a player, unless you steal the ball almost without touching the other player, you are going to get called for the foul. If you go through the back of him, lock, stock and barrel, then you simply have to expect a yellow card. He might protest that he BARELY touched Aguero, but he caught him twice and it only takes a planted foot and Aguero's season is over. I played upfront and the tackle from behindwas always the bane of my existence. I was a big lad and any time the centre half could come straight through me, he would. It cost one lad his four front teeth on the third or fourth time he did it, but he clearly had no regard for my safety, so when I turned quickly to avoid the challenge as he came in, how was air to know my left elbow would catch him square in the mouth. Shit happens!
Today, the game has been sanitized to protect the spectacle, but in the process, it is ruining the spectacle, because the refs have little to no nous and they are all scared to death of not calling the foul and getting retrospective action, while when it is in the box, it is the opposite, because a non-call dies down far, far quicker than the call that might have been wrong and changed the outcome.
In short, refs have become cowards who don't ref the actual game they see, they referee the game they think the powers that be want to see, and that will keep them out of the firing line. Today, one of those twats, and I believe it was the fourth official, Oliver, may have completely changed this game and the next one based on something he THINKS he saw, but couldn't have, because it wasn't there!