Click to enlarge, and debate the strip below the line.
Keith Hackett's verdict
1) Take firm action. You have witnessed an aggressive, two-way confrontation, and you have evidence, based on the use of the word "too", that the pair have traded racist insults. So show a red card to both and later file a detailed report. Quote what you heard, then leave it to the FA to investigate the situation in detail. Thanks to Phil West.
2) Play on. Football is a contact sport and you shouldn't be too fast to intervene and sanitise it, provided the keeper's challenge was fair and not careless, reckless or involving excessive force. Players have a duty of care towards their opponents, and you have a duty of care for everyone's safety, so those are your main concerns – but you should let the game flow whenever possible. If, though, you did decide a clash like this was reckless, then it would be a penalty and a yellow card; or a red card if it was reckless with excessive force. Thanks to Kate Collyns.
3) It's a schoolboy error: players have to play to the whistle. Whatever his reasoning – maybe that he didn't see or hear your signal, or that he just wanted a free-kick instead – it's irrelevant: he has committed an obvious offence. However, not every handball is an automatic yellow card – and I would say that this is an instance where a free-kick will suffice. Chris Brent wins the shirt.
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