Ref chief Howard Webb gives clear verdict on controversial Diogo Dalot incident vs. City | OneFootball

Referee boss Howard Webb has given his verdict on Diogo Dalot’s controversial foul on Jeremy Doku and whether the Manchester United defender should have been shown a red card.

Dalot incident

United eased to a dominant 2-0 victory over City in what was Michael Carrick’s first game in charge as interim head coach.

Carrick, brought in to temporarily replace the sacked Ruben Amorim, outfoxed Pep Guardiola, whose team simply had no answer for United’s fast, intensive and aggressive play.

United’s goals were scored in the second half by Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu. The Red Devils currently sit in fifth place in the Premier League standings.

In the game’s opening stages, Dalot was booked for a heavy challenge on Doku. Replays appeared to show that Dalot caught Doku on the knee but VAR official Craig Pawson judged that the yellow card was sufficient and on-field referee Anthony Taylor did not need to review it further.

After the final whistle, Guardiola was adamant that Dalot should have been given his marching orders, as was City midfielder Bernardo Silva.

Carrick said that he didn’t think it was a red card.

PGMOL chief Howard Webb appeared on the latest edition of the Match Officials Mic’d Up review show and backed the decisions made by Taylor and Pawson.

Webb’s verdict

Webb said [as quoted by The Sun], “On the field there’s not a lot of reaction to it. The VAR’s job then is to decide if the on field decision of a yellow card is clearly and obviously wrong.”

“A lot of situations sit in the grey zone, where there’s a mix of considerations. This is one of those.”

“The point of contact is on the knee, but we also have to factor in speed, force, and intensity. You’ll not see many red cards in the Premier League for serious foul play that don’t involve those things.”

He continued, “That foot touches the knee but you can see there’s not a great deal of speed or intensity. That foot touches the knee but you can see there’s not a great deal of speed or intensity.”

“So I’m absolutely aligned that once that decision’s taken on the field, we leave it as referee’s call and don’t intervene.”

United are next in action on Sunday when they face table leaders Arsenal at the Emirates.

featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images

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