Manchester United won 2-0 against Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday, with both Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney furious over a controversial decision.
Alan Shearer gives verdict on Dalot’s red card escape (Image: Match of the Day)
Alan Shearer has slammed the “stupid” failure not to send off Diogo Dalot following a “dangerous” challenge on Jeremy Doku in Saturday’s Manchester derby. The Portuguese defender was booked after just 11 minutes for a late challenge on a Manchester City player.
Neither the referee nor VAR deemed the challenge worthy of a sending off, and Dalot was booked instead. The Premier League subsequently clarified its decision by suggesting that the contact was “only a glance and was not due to excessive force”.
But Shearer criticized the decision, claiming a red card should have been the only result. When asked on Match of the Day whether Dalot should have been sent off, he replied:
“As you’ll see, it’s as obvious as a red card. They ruled that it was ‘considered a glance’, which is nonsense. It’s straight and full-on, as you’ll see. It’s high and dangerous.”
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“He’s putting the opponent in danger. This is a straight red card. On the face of it, it’s nonsense. I understand why the referee didn’t give it, but you have two people on VAR and you don’t think that’s dangerous? That’s ridiculous.”
Former United forward Wayne Rooney also gave his verdict, agreeing that Dalot should have been sacked. He replied: “At first I didn’t think so, but looking back it’s as obvious as a red card I’ve ever seen. The worrying thing is that VAR didn’t see it. That’s the big concern.”
Asked if the Premier League’s explanation was satisfactory, Shearer added: “No way. I don’t know how they came up with that. It’s a fair shot, a terrible tackle.”
Anthony Taylor decides not to send off Dalot (Image: Getty Images)
Should Dalot have been sent off against Man City? Share your thoughts in the comments section below
City manager Josep Guardiola also expressed his displeasure at the failure to sack Dalot, but stopped short of suggesting that Dalot’s presence was the reason for his side’s defeat. After the match he said: “You could say that, that red card, it could have been a different game, so many situations happen.
“It’s easy to come here and say there should be a red card. It doesn’t matter. If it’s a discussion about winning or losing games, we don’t improve. We have to do better and we didn’t do that today.”
“We have to look at ourselves. There are teams that won 10-11. Maybe we didn’t win.”
Despite the controversy, United ultimately won 2-0. Brian Mbeumo and Patrick Daugu both scored in an eye-catching second half, while Michael Carrick marked his return to Old Trafford in style.
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