There was controversy during Manchester United’s 3-0 win over Leicester as Austrian midfielder Marcel Sabitzer caught Foxes defender Wout Faes with a high tackle late in the first half.
With the score 1-0, Faes cleared a ball just outside his own penalty area. Seemingly out of control, Bayern Munich loanee Sabitzer produced a late challenge with his studs up, catching the Belgian just below his knee.
Ex-Scotland midfielder and Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness felt it was a clear sending off. “This is a red card for several reasons,” Souness said at half-time. “Sabitzer has turned side on to him, it’s a classic case of if you’re going to try and do someone, that’s how you do them – side-on.
“If he makes contact with the ball, what’s he going to do with it? He’s looking for the player, if that’s not dangerous play, what is?”
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 19, 2023
"That's a red card"
Graeme Souness believes Man Utd are lucky to still have 11 players on the pitch!pic.twitter.com/V2bYMW7krw
Sabitzer was not booked or sent off for the challenge, which was assessed by VAR Paul Tierney for serious foul play. A VAR review cannot award a yellow card if a red has not already been awarded, so Sabitzer could not be booked in this scenario.
The midfielder’s escape had a large bearing on the final result. By the end of the game, Sabitzer’s 11 ball recoveries were more than any player on the pitch, as a Marcus Rashford brace and Jadon Sancho finish put the Foxes to the sword.
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers criticised the decision on BBC Radio 5 Live after the game, saying: “I’ll take away that we should have been playing against 10 men.
“It was a challenge that, how that’s not picked up, as a straight-leg stud to the knee on Wout, how that is not a sending off I will never know.”
So why wasn’t Sabitzer sent off? FA Law 12, which rules on fouls and misconduct, says serious foul play is: “A tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play.
“Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play.”
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