The only way it’s red is if the referee believes the keeper deliberately plays Morata instead of the ball.
I’m surprised he didn’t consult the VAR monitor in the end, but it was ultimately his interpretation of the play and they weren’t about to question it due to it not being clear/obvious.
To be honest I think if he went to the VAR it would have solidified the decision even more. The shove comes after he makes the save and the ball gets away. Is there malice there? Not at all. But is it red card worthy? Looks an awful lot like it.
The way I interpreted it (wrong or not) was that the keeper made the save and error, then attempted to play the ball and it was poked away during the effort to retrieve it, causing contact with only Morata and not both.
The keeper doesn’t even see Morata, though. His line of sight is blocked by his own teammate and he is only looking at the ball. Morata caught him by surprise.
I don’t know if they’re allowed to do this, but I think that if you’re going to deal such a harsh punishment you should always check the monitor just in case, on your own volition.
The only way it’s red is if the referee believes the keeper deliberately plays Morata instead of the ball.
I’m surprised he didn’t consult the VAR monitor in the end, but it was ultimately his interpretation of the play and they weren’t about to question it due to it not being clear/obvious.
To be honest I think if he went to the VAR it would have solidified the decision even more. The shove comes after he makes the save and the ball gets away. Is there malice there? Not at all. But is it red card worthy? Looks an awful lot like it.
The way I interpreted it (wrong or not) was that the keeper made the save and error, then attempted to play the ball and it was poked away during the effort to retrieve it, causing contact with only Morata and not both.
The keeper doesn’t even see Morata, though. His line of sight is blocked by his own teammate and he is only looking at the ball. Morata caught him by surprise.
I don’t know if they’re allowed to do this, but I think that if you’re going to deal such a harsh punishment you should always check the monitor just in case, on your own volition.