Should Man United’s Valencia have been sent off vs Newcastle?

Holly Clancy,

The kick

Football fans might not agree on a lot of things, but one thing they do agree on is the fact that referees need to be far more consistent than they currently are.

There are examples of it week in, week out, but when Manchester United took on Newcastle United and Antonio Valencia failed to even get a yellow card for a challenge that looked an awful lot like Sadio Mane’s earlier in the season on Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson – that saw him sent off, fans were fuming.

Obviously the Liverpool fans were the ones with the loudest voices on social media, but it was simply not acceptable for many people – and plenty of people reacted with anger and pointed out the officials are not consistent at all.

The point isn’t if it’s a red card or not – for many people, all they want is to see the officials make decisions that are all in line with each other and are regular in terms of players being sent off or cautioned.

That way, players know exactly what to expect when they take to the field, and while most people would admit raising your foot that highly is looking for trouble, according to some officials, it’s fine – and that’s where the inconsistency and issues come in.

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