5 Lessons From Man City And Arsenal's Champions League Losses

5. Rule Change Necessary?

In Fifa's laws of the game, Law 12 states that a player will be red carded where they "deny an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick." When deciding whether to issue a red card the referee must consider the direction of the play, the location of the foul, the proximity of the player to the ball, the probability of controlling the ball, the location and number of opponents and the opportunity for the attempt on goal. These are quite technical points which must be considered objectively under immense pressure. Taking a literal interpretation of the rule and applying it to both red cards the referees have probably made the correct calls, but that is not the issue. The issue is whether the rule itself needs to be changed, as at times it appears manifestly unfair and often goes some way to making games dull and less entertaining. How is the rule unfair then? Simply put, it is because giving a penalty should be punishment enough without the red card on top. There is little doubt that Arjen Robben and Lionel Messi were denied genuine goal scoring opportunities when they were fouled. The subsequent award of a penalty is a genuine goal scoring opportunity, probably a far easier one for players at this level (assuming that David Alaba's miss was a one off). Should the punishment not be left there? As it stands teams are left with the prospect of conceding a goal and playing the rest of the game a man down as well as coping with the three match suspension which the player will serve. This leads us nicely onto the next point. There is an argument to suggest that the dismissal of a player in this circumstance can suck the excitement from games. After Demichelis's dismissal, the game became repetitive and at times tedious to watch even for the most avid football hipster. Barcelona would patiently zip the ball around the edge of the City penalty area, trying to break down two rigid banks of four. In fairness many Barcelona games can end up like this when the opposition have 11 men but the question is, with 11-on-11 would City have been more adventurous? If so, this would have made for a far more exciting game. Similarly with Arsenal, once Szczesny was given his marching orders, the mission became one of damage limitation. There was an eerie German inevitability about the end result an deep down the Arsenal players probably knew it. The prospect of 2 / 3 of a game spent chasing the ball must be a daunting and highly unappealing one. Why not say that when a player is brought down in the box and a genuine goal scoring opportunity denied, a penalty is sufficient punishment. But if the foul is outside the box (we'll leave that debate for another day) and the victim is only awarded a free kick, then a red card would be suitable punishment then.