ex-ref Graham Poll's take on the matter in the dailymail...
Nani's dismissal might have looked harsh, but United were lucky Rafael didn't see red too... and Rio could find himself in hot water after sarcastic applause at referee Cakir
Manchester United will feel robbed of the chance to progress in the Champions League and cite the dismissal of Nani in the 56th minute as the turning point of the game.
However, they should have had a player sent off just a few minutes after the Nani incident when a goal bound effort was blocked on the line by the arm of United full back Rafael.
Had Cuneyt Cakir merely cautioned Nani and dismissed Rafael then United fans would have felt hard done by - but not cheated as they did with the dismissal of Nani.
The Portuguese winger challenged for the ball with a raised foot and only had eyes for the ball but caught Alvaro Arbeloa.
It looked like dangerous play and at worst a yellow card.
Cakir stood and waited for Nani to get up as he appeared to be injured from the challenge.
It is said that the best referees avoid surprises – this referee clearly does not agree with that and shocked the entire crowd at Old Trafford. However, I understand that the protection of players and ensuring their safety is drummed into UEFA referees at all seminars and with Pierluigi Collina, the European referees’ chief, sitting in the stand, Cakir will have felt enormous pressure to follow those guidelines.
Those elite UEFA referees watching will not have been surprised at the red card but the English ones would acknowledge they would not have dismissed a player for the same offence in a Premier League game.
Former United midfielder Roy Keane, analysing the incident, supported the red card and the more you watch the incident the more you can see why the Turkish referee decided that the red card was the appropriate sanction.
So, had Cakir been advised to dismiss Rafael as well, then Manchester United would have had just nine players and faced a penalty.
Cakir was having a superb game. He was almost faultless in the first half and despite the debate of the Nani red card he continued refereeing consistently through the game and would, I expect, be congratulated by UEFA on his performance.
Unlike Rio Ferdinand, who could well face a charge for his sarcastic applauding in the face of Cakir after the final whistle.
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Underneath this article on the site is something about the Utd/Bayern game in 2010 when Rafael got sent off and Bayern went through, quote from that "Ferguson was furious with referee Nicola Rizzoli's decision, claiming the official had been influenced by the Bundesliga side's players when they surrounded the Italian". The irony of him stating that when his teams have bullied ref's for years, even tonight surrounded the ref multiple times to have a pop.
