Nothing like it really, Christianson had both arms around Mane and pulled him down. I think it’s debatable if Helik did make a foul. Also, Not sure the Chelsea keeper would’ve got to the ball before Mane. Walton touched the ball as the Reading player went down.
In that case Heliks was deserved because Christianson had both arms wrapped round Mane body!! Dont think it looked the same way at all ,personally.
Positionally it was the same and before I saw the replay with arms around Mane I thought it was a sending off. If the ref thought that Helik was slowing the forward down and the last man...? The goalie was coming in both situations.
The only way in which they were similar is that both defenders were the last man. Now let's look at the incidents in isolation: Christensen pretty much rugby tackled Mane to the ground (he couldn't have done much more to stop him), it was so clear cut and yet the ref only brandished a yellow card! WTF was he watching! The other thing is that Mane would have clearly got to the ball before the goalkeeper. The ref should have gave a straight red! Helik, tugged at Joao's shirt, contact was minimal but he gave the referee a decision to make. The other thing to factor in is that Joao wouldn't have got to the football before Walton. Looking at the two incidents then my huge grumble is the inconsistency from the referees. Take VAR out of the equation and Christensen would have got away with it! I believe referees are afforded far too much protection (in the football league) and should be more accountable for their decision making.
I thought they were pretty similar, Helik had flailing arms, a good CB would not have been in that vulnerable situation in the first place, let’s hope he isn’t gunna take 6/7 months to settle
In my view, the referee was correct on both occasions according to the way that the rule is currently drafted. On both occasions, the player was clearly the last defender. The referee is making his judgement on the basis of the way that the rule is drafted. My disagreement is that the incidents ruined both games as contests. The games were ruined for the watching fans because they were no longer contests between teams of equal numbers of players. The basic principal is that there has been a denial of a goal scoring opportunity. Why not simply restore that goal scoring opportunity, and punish the offence with a booking. Why does the rule not allow referees to award a penalty for offenses inside a defensive half for the denial of a goal scoring opportunity, thereby restoring the opportunity and allowing the contest to proceed to its conclusion between equally matched teams. I have not enjoyed many of the games on MotD this weekend because so many of them have been ruined by sendings off. Surely the watching public should have the opportunity to watch games to their conclusion between teams competing strongly for the ball without the constant fear of bookings and sendings off. It was part of the British game that competition for the ball was very physical. That is the type of game that I was brought up with, the type of game that I enjoyed. A game between men. There have been more goals this season, but goals are coming more easily because the rules are favouring the attacking team in the competition for the ball. I enjoy goals because scoring them is hard. If it becomes to easy to score, then the game becomes a different game, and you only have to look at Basketball if you want to see what happens if scoring is made too easy. I am a dinosaur, and proud of that fact.
That isn't the way the rules are drafted though. The rules actually say denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity with consideration being taken for the distance from goal (helik was around 35 yards out). Likelyhood of keeping or gaining control of the ball, (well their player didn't have the ball and it was falling in front of him moving away from him) and position of defending players (Jack Walton was a few yards directly in front of them both). Of course it relies on the referees interpretation but in my opinion the wording of the rule would fall heavily in favour of helik.
The helik incident was not a denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity, Christensen’s was. Mane would have got to the ball well before Kepa. Joao would not have got there before Walton. Technically of course they were similar incidents but there were differences, our keeper was closer to the ball and the ball was advancing at more pace. Helik’s was also arguably not a foul, though that isn’t really my basis of argument. The ref decided it was a foul, that won’t be changed, but they should consider it not to have been a denial of goalscoring opportunity. However looking at Struber’s comments they probably won’t even appeal.
There’s literally no point. Just lose them for the Chelsea game. Both players must be absolutely gutted at that though.
My point was more of a general one about the game and the way that it is going. It used to be that a player was sent off only as a last resort, but now it seems like players are sent off without any thought about the fans and the game as a spectacle. The rules are drafted in a way that encourages bookings and sendings off. If the intent of the governing bodies was to clean up the game, well that is fine, but the unintended effect is that they are ruining it as a competitive sport played with physical contact and strength as factors. These are simply the ramblings of an old man, who preferred the game as it was. The facts of the two challenges will always be open to debate, and after games, that is what fans have done for generations. However, with one referee making his decision from well behind play without the benefit of TV assistance, and the other similarly well behind play, but able to change his decision with the benefit of TV assistance, it is obvious that we are now watching a two tier game. Frankly, that is something else that I do not like. We used to have the same rules whether the game was played in a park, or in a Premier League stadium. Now we do not.
I thought we would challenge the Helik one but Struber said he was OK with both red cards so it's not going to happen. They miss the Chelsea game which is a shame for the lads to miss out playing at Stamford Bridge.
