Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has issued his verdict on the potential red card for Manchester United defender Harry Maguire against Chelsea.
The England international appeared to kick out at Chelsea forward Michy Batshuayi in the first half after he fell to the floor by the sidelines, leading the Blues bench to be furious.
However, the decision was not acted upon by the on-field referee and further action was not called for following a VAR review, leading to widespread bemusement.
Gallagher has now become the latest figure to suggest a red card should have been issued and explained why he was particularly surprised at the incident.
"[I'm surprised] he escapes any colour card. What I would say is that I'm very surprised he didn't face any punishment. Anthony [Taylor] didn't think it was a red card because he's seen it from another angle," he told Sky Sports.
"It goes to VAR, and the VAR [Chris Kavanagh] has to decide if it was a red card and he thinks no. The problem then is that he cannot recommend a yellow card, so it goes back to free kick only. That's where Anthony was snookered a bit.
"My instant reaction was that it was a red card. The trouble is, when you watch things over and over again, you spot little bits of detail. Michy Batshuayi slips, Maguire goes to ground and then his legs go up.
"He says it's to protect him from Batshuayi coming into him. They're very close, and VAR decided that the kick out was more petulant than violent. He said it didn't have the impact so therefore he couldn't award a red card.
"At that point, yellow card is ruled out. What I would say is, when you see that tackle, there has to be more punishment than a free kick only."
