Dermot Gallagher believes the right decision was made not to show Raheem Sterling a red card during the Premier League clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.
There was a VAR review over a challenge made by the England international on his Three Lions team-mate during the first half of the game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which Spurs won 2-0.
Sterling was booked by referee Mike Dean for the challenge, but the decision was then looked at by the video assistant referee Kevin Friend, with Dean's original decision standing.
And Gallagher said he felt that was the correct call, despite his initial reaction being that it could have been a red card.
“When I saw the first one I thought yellow card. When I see this, my immediate reaction is red card," Gallagher said, speaking as part of the Ref Watch feature on Sky Sports.
"When I look at it again, there are a number of factors. It doesn’t look good but when you see it again, [Dele] Alli actually touches the ball here.
"[Raheem] Sterling is stood up, he’s going for the ball. Because he’s stood up, he has no intensity and I think that’s what saves him. He hasn’t lunged. It’s not a good tackle but I don’t think it’s a red card.”
The decision angered some Arsenal fans, who felt that Sterling's challenge was similar to the one made by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on Max Meyer in the Gunners' 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace last month at Selhurst Park.
Aubameyang was shown a red card for his challenge, following a VAR review, and some Gunners supporters were quick to point that out on social media after the incident involving Sterling.
But Gallagher believes there was a key difference between the two challenges.
“I think Sterling is stood up with Alli,"he said.
"The Aubameyang they go to ground and they are both horizontal, studs in first. In this one, because he’s stood up he’s lost the intensity and the speed so it’s a reckless tackle rather than one that endangered the safety of an opponent.”
