We’ve seen plenty of controversial refereeing decisions in the Premier League already this season – rather telling, there have been a staggering ten red cards from 30 games, a dramatic uplift from an average of 0.11 per match in 2016/17 – but few have divided opinion so sparsely as Saido Mane’s dismissal on Saturday.
As the Liverpool forward beat the Manchester City backline to run through one-on-one against Ederson, he leaped into the air and raised his boot in the hope of nicking the ball past the goalkeeper, but instead made contact with his face. Referee Jonathan Moss was quick to issue a red card, citing serious foul play for endangering an opponent, as medical staff rushed onto the pitch to treat the sparked-out south American.
Yet, Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville instantly criticised the decision and since that moment, two polarised schools of thought have emerged. While some believe the foul was at worst a yellow card, others are shocked there’s any real debate over a challenge that saw Ederson stretchered off with an oxygen mask. Here’s the take from some of English football’s biggest pundits and the writers at FootballFanCast…
Christy Malyan – A Yellow Card
If Sadio Mane hadn’t challenged for that ball, he’d spend this week feeling the full wrath of every Scouser on the red half of Merseyside. It was a huge opportunity to score and put Liverpool back into a match against a top six rival away from home after going a goal down – as Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Ian Wright, three former strikers, proved in the Match of the Day studio, you’ll struggle to find a forward who would opt out of that challenge for fear of hurting an opponent. That doesn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t a red card, but it does leave Mane in a no-win situation as he’s essentially obliged to go for the ball, the kind of situation you’d expect a referee as experienced as Moss to appreciate.
Furthermore, the criteria of endangering an opponent doesn’t quite wash with me; although Ederson was seriously hurt, injuries always have to be taken after the fact when it comes to fouls – they can’t factor into the original decision. A player can break his arm in a fair-play shoulder barge, just as some completely legitimate blocks can snap ankles because of the force behind them, even if neither player makes any contact. The term endangerment can apply to most challenges in football. Perhaps Mane could have gone with his head like Ederson, but who knows how badly that could have ended for both players – let alone what decision Moss would’ve awarded as a consequence.
As far as I’m aware, the most common punishment for a high foot in the Premier League is a yellow card – which is exactly what Matt Ritchie saw for a similar challenge in Newcastle’s 1-0 win over Swansea on Sunday. That’s what Mane should have received as well.
Former referee Graham Poll – Red Card
“Alan Shearer, Ian Wright, Gary Lineker, Gary Neville — and, yes, Chris Sutton — are among many pundits who said they would have gone for the ball in the same fashion as Sadio Mane. They would have been sent off too. They also say the contact was accidental, despite seeing the consequences of Mane’s actions — a keeper smashed in the face by the studs of a flying boot.
“The point they all miss is that actions have consequences and there is a lack of care shown by the Liverpool striker. Not deliberate, but that doesn’t come into it. The law tells referees that intent is not relevant and it is what a player does rather than what he means to do that matters.
“Mane chose to make the reckless tackle which surely nobody can argue endangered the safety of the goalkeeper. To argue against a red card is to show ignorance of the laws.
“We all like a debate in football and more often than not the issue is a grey one which contains an element of subjectivity. This one has no grey area. Referee Jon Moss was right and to suggest anything else really is futile. Turn your back on challenges like this and it puts the safety of players in jeopardy. Moss is one of the most criticised referees in the Premier League but he was 100 per cent right here.”
Gary Neville – Not a red card
“It’s a 50-50 really and Ederson just gets there first. Sometimes a stadium can tell you if it’s a bad challenge and there wasn’t great reaction from anybody. I don’t think that is a red card,” said Neville, as replays of the incident were shown. His eyes are on the ball, it’s ridiculous. He wins that challenge, the goal is there for him. It wasn’t one of those where you think the goalkeeper is the favourite. He does well to get out, and his foot is high.
“Jon Moss, you have just ruined the game there. He didn’t need to give a red card. He could have given a yellow. I think he’s got it wrong. The reason Ederson is injured is because his back three have ridiculously tried to play the offside.”
Chris Sutton – Not a red card
“Any professional footballer, or former footballer who says he thinks Sadio Mane deserved a red card is a liar. I know Graham Poll and his referee mates will talk about the letter of the law and dangerous play, but any centre forward or goalscorer HAS to go for that ball. If Mane beats the goalkeeper to the ball, if he nicks it past the keeper, it’s a goal. That is the ultimate reward and that is why he has to go for it.
“Can you imagine the Liverpool fans if he shied away from that? Any fan would question his commitment — they would want the shirt off his back. I can understand why the referee, Jon Moss, gave the decision. But it’s the law and the climate that is flawed. It was an accidental collision, not excessive force. The referees will say it is dangerous and there was danger, but there is a danger in every challenge you make. The fault is with the pressure on referees.
“Commitment, courage, blood and guts are ways we describe great teams, great players. Arsenal were smashed for showing a lack of that at Liverpool two weeks ago, but now the game penalises a player for showing all those traits. I strongly object to Mane getting a three-game ban, the same as Marko Arnautovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic for blatant elbows. How can that be right?”
Chris McMullan – Red card but three-match ban is harsh
The laws of the game state that serious foul play merits a red card. And ‘serious foul play’ is, among other things, a challenge that endangers the safety of the opponent. Plainly, when the injured player leaves the pitch on a stretcher and with the aid of an oxygen mask, his safety has been endangered.
There has been something of an outpouring of sympathy for Sadio Mane, and that’s understandable. He didn’t mean to hurt anyone, he was trying to score a goal. But when it comes to the laws of the game, as they are right now, Jon Moss had very little choice.
Whether or not the laws should be the way they are is quite another story. If you don’t think Mane should have been sent off on the grounds that his challenge was dangerous, then you probably have to reassess your idea of danger, given the consequences. But if you think that, despite the danger, that is the sort of challenge which is part of a game in which accidents happen, then you may have a better point.
It all comes down to what you think red card is for. If it’s a form of punishment for egregious acts of violence of violence on a football pitch, or a mechanism for getting rid of repeat offenders by issuing two yellow cards, then Mane perhaps didn’t deserve one. But protection of players, who don’t expect to leave their workplace with broken bones from flying boots around their heads when they jump for headers, perhaps such tackles should be discouraged.
In the end, under the law and for the protection of players, Mane deserved to walk. But as for whether he deserves to be punished further for what was, ostensibly, an accident, then perhaps the Liverpool attackers should be spared the standard three-match ban.