Ex-Fifa referee: Ronaldo should be banned as controversial Man United footage emerges
Cristiano Ronaldo was very close to being sent off for Man United in their 5-0 hammering to Liverpool.
That is the view of ex-Fifa and Premier League referee Keith Hackett, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the incident between Ronaldo and Curtis Jones that saw Ronaldo shown a yellow card.
Jones was trying to shield the ball out for a Liverpool goal kick before the Man United forward fouled him before kicking the ball against his chest when he was on the ground.
A confrontation between players from both clubs then ensued before Ronaldo was cautioned.
A red card would have seen him banned for their next three Premier League games with Spurs, Man City and Watford.
“I think it’s a tight call,” Hackett said after analysing the footage with Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“Anthony Taylor came in quickly and stopped an escalation to what could have been a mass confrontation.
“Overall, I think Anthony Taylor handled that conflict really, really well.
“In relation to why did he get a yellow and not a red, I think it was because the ball was there. Those kicks were out of frustration and not from malice.
“It was borderline, but I’m going with the referee, a yellow card. It was actually a good bit of refereeing.
“When you’re faced with what appears to be a one-sided game, the danger the referee face is that players do become frustrated.
“As a consequence, in fairness to Taylor, he maintained high levels of concentration and movement around the field to use his presence to prevent it.”
The result means United have won just one of their last seven games across all competitions.
They are now seven points behind Liverpool in second and eight points behind league leaders Chelsea.
In other news, a Man United star will cause fights as controversial footage emerges.