And in this case, Saliba was the last man and the closest defender to the goal. Thirdly, it’s the distance between the foul and the goal, and finally, it’s the likelihood of the attacker gaining control of the ball. In this situation, all four criteria were met, and therefore the decision to upgrade the yellow card to a red was the correct one.
It’s always a difficult decision to make in real time, but with the help of VAR and the on-field review, the correct call was ultimately made to ensure fair play and uphold the rules of the game.
WEBB’S VERDICT:
This is a decision that I think they’ve got wrong. It’s a difficult one because you’re looking at the contact and you’re looking at the control of the ball. I think this is a situation where they’ve got a bit too hung up on the contact.
De Ligt’s knee is making contact with Ings’ knee, it’s minimal contact. Ings is not in control of the ball, he’s not going to get control of the ball, so for me, this is not a penalty.
I think the VAR has overstepped the mark here, they’ve over-interpreted the contact. I think this should have been a play-on situation.