Matt Ritchie escapes red card for Sadio Mane-style foul

Sadio Mane’s red card split opinion this weekend – but a similar incident involving Matt Ritchie on Sunday only saw the Newcastle man booked, raising issues about refereeing consistency.

Mane’s high challenge in Liverpool’s defeat to Manchester City on Saturday caught goalkeeper Ederson in the jaw and he was dismissed for serious foul play and endangering an opponent.

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville disagreed with the decision, arguing that Mane only had eyes for the ball and the collision was accidental. However, Jamie Carragher insisted referee Jon Moss had made the right call.
One day on, Ritchie leapt up to win the ball in a similar manner and, like Mane, missed the ball, instead hitting Swansea’s Alfie Mawson on the arm. While the impact was not as dramatic as Mane’s on Ederson, Mawson required treatment and strapping to his forearm.

Ritchie, though, was only shown a yellow card by referee Mike Jones.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, the Newcastle midfielder conceded he was relieved not to see a red card brandished, having watched the Mane incident himself on Saturday. „It was the same as yesterday, I just had my eye on the ball, but I think he came a bit lower than yesterday [Mane],“ he said.

„I was delighted to see a yellow card. There was no intent. I didn’t see his reaction. I looked straight round to see what the referee was doing and lucky enough it was a yellow card.“
In the Sky Sports studio, former Newcastle manager Alan Pardew joked: „Who said we ever had consistency in the game of football with referees?“

While Pardew didn’t think Mane’s foul warranted a red card, he pointed out that Ritchie’s challenge on Mawson may have been even more reckless.
„Is he endangering an opponent? Without a shadow of a doubt,“ said Pardew. „Not only that, but his standing leg is off the floor as well. I actually think that’s worse than yesterday.

„To be fair to Mawson, he’s not made a big deal of it, the players haven’t made a big deal of it.

„My personal opinion is that Mane’s shouldn’t have been a sending off and Ritchie’s shouldn’t be a sending off. I don’t think there’s any intent on it. But the action is very, very similar.“
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp, who believed it was the correct decision by Moss to send off Mane, agreed that Ritchie was fortunate – but said the two examples highlight the potential difficulties video referees could have in the future.

„If you ask a referee they would say ‘Ritchie didn’t touch him’ but he actually did,“ said Redknapp. „You can see his arm, there’s certainly contact. I suppose the difference is how high Mane was, as he hit Ederson’s face. But there isn’t a lot of difference between the two of them.

„That’s why video referees, what difference would they make? You could have two people up here watching and it is a difference of opinion.“Euro Soccer Bonus

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