Let the debate begin

[Scunner]

Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir's record to date:

Number of players from English teams he has sent off: 7

Number of players from teams playing an English team he has sent off: 0

[Ian]

Is that because of the way we play the game in the UK or is it more sinister?

You would think his assessor reports would get him de-listed if he was looking for opportunities but still the numbers look odd unless the other six were Suarez - Suarez - Suarez - Suarez - Suarez - Suarez :-)

[stoop]

Collina was the assessor evidently and he agreed with the decision.

[tiggsy]

With a record like that, I would have expected Ferguson, to have warned his players not to commit to dangerous play. Nani did spend time rolling on the floor feigning injury, I suspect he knew he was in trouble with the ref.

[stoop]

We could debate this all day but the fact is that if your foot is that high there is the potential to cause serious injury to your opponent. Hence the need for a red card.

Having been on the end of one or two sets of studs I can vouch for that.

[Scunner]

So do you agree that every over head kick is dangerous play and should result in a red card, not goal of the season?

[tiggsy]

Not all but if thereIs is potential to cause injury then yes. Players safety must come first.

[stoop]

Actually Keith I think they should be a red if an opponent is caught by the kicker. They are very dangerous and I've seen players laid out cold from over head kicks.

Feet high is ok if you are in a position to see that no other player can be injured. If you can't then the potential is lethal. If you catch someone then you should expect to walk.

[Piscoe]

As far as I know you cannot raise your leg above waist height without showing your studs. If this is deemed dangerous play then every time a player raises a foot to waist height it should be deemed dangerous and therefore shown a red card. The argument that it depends on whether there was any other player in close proximity is nonsense surely. A player must check first to see if there is a possibility of someone being caught by his high foot???

I think a yellow card would have been harsh let alone a red.

For me it spoilt a very good game of football that could have gone either way. It is what the Champions league is all about. Games like these are won and lost by small margins and time and time again we see the outcome decided by a poor refereeing decision.

In just about all forms of sport today technology has been brought in to assist officials. Why not football? Why can't we have officials sat in the stands who do have the benefit of replay and close-ups etc. helping the referee decide what the appropriate action should be. Rugby benefits from this hugely. It would stop all the diving cheats too as the ref can ask for a review

As for Roy Keane. If he is correct then he for one should have been sent off ten times more than he already was. What a T*****r!!

[stoop]

It's not showing studs that got him sent off but slamming them into the chest of an opposing player. Whether intended or not it was deemed as serious foul play by the ref and carries a red card and ban.

That's what the ref saw and I think many refs in Europe would have given a red. Only our useless refs would have given him a yellow and then maybe sent him off later for scratching his bum or something.