Leeds United have reacted angrily after losing their appeal against Pascal Struijk’s red card for his challenge on Harvey Elliott, with the club’s owner pointing out that even the Liverpool midfielder said it was wrong.
Andrea Radrizanni said that the FA’s decision not to overturn the red card was “inexplicable”. Elliott, 18, has undergone surgery after suffering a fracture dislocation of his left ankle in the challenge from behind on Sunday.
Craig Pawson, the referee, sent off Struijk, 22, for serious foul play after the incident, which Elliott described as a “freak accident”, but an FA panel has decided not to overturn the referee’s decision.
Radrizanni reacted on Twitter, saying: “Inexplicable! Even the unlucky Elliott said clearly it was not a foul. It is human to commit a mistake during the game but when we have VAR and time to evaluate and make a rational decision, that’s very hard to accept.”
Elliott sent his sympathies to Struijk on Instagram, saying: “Sorry about this Pascal, I think it’s wrong. But it’ll soon blow over brother and you’ll be back in no time smashing it again — keep positive.”
Struijk won the ball with his right foot but his trailing leg caused the injury by making contact with Elliott’s left ankle. Significantly, his feet were off the ground when he made contact, which players are told puts them at risk of a red card. The VAR looked at the incident but saw no reason to overturn Pawson’s decision.
Referees are not supposed to apply different sanctions based on the severity of a player’s injury, but they are told to show a red card if a player’s challenge endangers the safety of their opponent, and a serious injury can be evidence of that having happened.
Mike Riley, the Professional Game Match Officials Board managing director, has made it clear that simply winning the ball makes little difference to whether a player runs the risk of a red card, and those remain the guidelines given to players.
He told the BBC in 2012: “The advice to players is to be mindful of their responsibilities towards an opponent and beware that if they commit to a tackle, at speed, with intensity, with two feet off the ground, they run the risk of being sent off.
“A player can win the ball with one foot and still endanger their opponent with the other. In the past, if a player won the ball, the tackle could be seen as legitimate, but now the emphasis is on the safety of the players.”
