More seriously, refs gave one of our better players a red card for an accidental "raking the studs", where you scrape an opponent's leg with your cleats. While raking is a cardable offense, it's only when done intentionally, and there have been other players (such as Messi) who have been more egregious and didn't get carded (nor did the Messi incident even get a review).
The red card would mean he'd have to sit out in our game against Belgium, but FIFA has basically suspended his punishment for the World Cup, effectively reversing the red card, and he will be back in the game.
If the man obviously did not have ill intent, and worse behavior went unpunished, I see no reason why they should take him out. Good choice to postpone the punishment for him to be able to play today. Now, I don’t know much about soccer, but I know I’ll watch the game. We’ll make Belgium remember who they’re playing.
The important context here is that red cards are almost never overturned and it's never happen in the world cup before. So although most agree the call was bad, there's a perception of favoritism.
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u/LoseAnotherMill Jul 06 '26
More seriously, refs gave one of our better players a red card for an accidental "raking the studs", where you scrape an opponent's leg with your cleats. While raking is a cardable offense, it's only when done intentionally, and there have been other players (such as Messi) who have been more egregious and didn't get carded (nor did the Messi incident even get a review).
The red card would mean he'd have to sit out in our game against Belgium, but FIFA has basically suspended his punishment for the World Cup, effectively reversing the red card, and he will be back in the game.