Brighton 0-0 Brentford; Thomas Frank says Brighton’s Joao Pedro should have been sent off
To be fair, both managers have different views.
Brentford boss Frank, who saw his side pick up just their second away point of the season, first spoke at a press conference and when asked if a red card should have been shown, he said: “Yes. As I understand the rules, you don’t swing your arms to hit someone, whether you hit them or not.
“That’s why we have VAR. It happens and we have to make it (VAR) better in the future.”
But Brighton boss Fabian Huerzeller, whose side has gone six Premier League games without a win, doesn’t view the incident the same way.
When told of Frank’s words, he replied: “That’s an interesting point, I think it’s completely different. To me it’s not a red card, why would it be a red card? You just want to get rid of someone.”
Speaking to Amazon Prime, former Premier League referee Mark Clattenberg said: “If we look at the rules of the game, it has to be ‘hit the opponent or try to hit the opponent’.
“He can’t be sent off for contact because there was no contact. So the key is whether he tried to attack the opponent.”
“The more I watched because it was an unusual move, especially from behind, when Andy Madeley was waving his arms, he was looking at Andy Madeley. His arms were very close to his body and I think It was more of a gesture to the referee.
“Andy Madeley was in a very good position. Joao Pedro couldn’t have been sent off for contact but he could have been sent off for attempted contact. I believe it wasn’t just a attempted attack, It’s a gesture.”
“I think Joao Pedro made a gesture to the referee, but if he wanted to pump his fist and use violence, he would have extended his arm and made contact.”
