Joe Cole was adament that Erling Haaland should have been sent off for a first half tackle during Manchester City's home match against Everton. The forward had already scored to give his side the lead earlier in the half but was at the centre of controversy before the break.
Having been taken down earlier by Ben Godfrey, Haaland responded with his own aggression during the first 45 minutes and then went in hard on Vitalii Mykolenko. The incident attracted the attention of the BT Sport studio, with disagreements over whether a yellow card was tough enough punishment.
City play Chelsea next in a new year Premier League and FA Cup double-header that promises to truly test Graham Potter's men. Had Haaland's yellow card been overturned by VAR to a red then the Premier League's runaway top scorer may have been forced to miss the matches.
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Former referee Peter Walton agreed; saying: "This game has been simmering since Haaland got injured and since then Andy Madley has had a real hard time keeping control.
"It has this undercurrent. Haaland is going to be a very lucky man if he stays on the field because there’s a bit of frustration and he’s gone at speed, with force, probably hasn’t caught him but this looks a poor foul."
Robbie Savage and Cole then continued to disagree over the decision:
Robbie Savage: I think it’s a yellow. This is going to be the best angle… it’s a yellow.
Joe Cole: I think that’s a red and the reason is because he’s gone with his left foot. If he’s going to block he slides with his right, look at his left foot… I think it’s a red.
RS: He’s not gone with his studs, I think it’s a yellow.:
JC: That’s slowed down, at full speed… I think it’s a red.
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