Jonjo Shelvey red card

[joeluke]

Yellow card maybe but red card was harsh

2 players here going in hard but fair for a 50/50 challenge, both only concentrating on winning the ball, Shelvey reached ball split second late and is red carded

Football is fast becoming a non-contact sport

[Duncer]

"Shelvey reached ball split second late"

That'll be why he was sent off then?

Seriously, I don't particlarly like either side, and I couldn't have cared less who won or lost, but I thought it was a red card as the challenge was careless and late.

[Stephen_G]

Football is fast becoming a non-contact sport

Football is supposed to be a non-contact sport.

Both Gary Neville and Jamie Redknapp agreed that Mark Halsey didn't want to send Shelvey off, but he could have shown both players a yellow or a red. They've been trying to outlaw studs-up challenges for a while. The message doesn't seem to be getting through (See the challenge that David Luiz SHOULD have been sent off for against Stoke).

[Ric.ror]

I only saw MOTD2 this morning so I could not comment before
The ref was placed about 3 yards from the incident and had a clear view and made the right decision

[mark01]

JL - I usually agree with most of your views on football, but I think the ref made the right decision in this case.

[joeluke]

If refs sent every player off who made a challenge like this games would end up 8-a-side every week

Robin van Persie made a similar challenge later in the same game but only received a yellow

Worse challenges than Shelveys often only receive a yellow - the bottom line is there's no consistency