Think he tried to make sure the game flowed and that a red card didn’t make or break the spectacle. Been a looooong time since he sent anyone off!
That said, Kompany has been sent off for less, and on lesser “name” players. When I was growing up, it wasn’t even a foul. Today, in England, it’s a definite yellow, chance of a red. In Europe, that’s a red card all day every day, and the player would have rolled all the way to the goal line!!!
I think a red card would have been incredibly harsh, but here is no way City could have contested it and had it overturned. As someone else said, though, we didn’t get much else after that! Thought Reobertsons arms around Sterling in the cutback could quite easily have been called, but the way the game was being played, it would have been news