'He could have seen red' - Ex-refs chief re-analyses 'extreme' Rayan Cherki incident

Real Madrid's Arda Guler could have easily been shown a red card for his challenge on Manchester City star Rayan Cherki.

That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that the Turkish superstar was "fortunate" not to be given his marching orders.

The clash between Turkey and France on Friday, 25 September, did have a red card, but not until the 87th minute when goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir was sent off for handball.

Kylian Mbappe's goal was the only difference during the 90 minutes, but that could have changed had Guler suffered the same fate after 42 minutes.

The 21-year-old caught Cherki with a very high foot when attempting to bring the ball down, with fans disagreeing with his caution.

Guler was allowed to finish the game, rather than watching from the sidelines, and Hackett believes that this was the wrong decision from the referee.

Arda Guler could have 'quite comfortably' been sent off

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Hackett disagreed with the yellow-card decision, labelling the Turkey attacker as "fortunate".

"I think the player is fortunate to avoid a red. His boot is extremely high. Yes, the ball is bouncing high, but he's coming with excessive force in that situation," he said.

"Quite comfortably, he could have had a red. I think the referee, early in the game, has given him the benefit of the doubt, and I think he's a fortunate guy.

"This is a judgment call by the referee with the viewing angle that he's got, and depending on the intensity of the game.

"What he's decided in awarding a yellow card is he's reckless with an attempt to play the ball and not the man, and so that's the judgment call."

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Cherki managed to escape unscathed, so he should feature in France's next game against Belgium on Monday, 28 September.

Erling Haaland has continued his goalscoring form, but the defensive third has been far more concerning during the international break so far.

Rayan Ait-Nouri has reportedly been sent home from the Algeria camp after a clash on the sidelines, while Marc Guehi and Nico O'Reilly look distracted.

Both defenders made huge mistakes in England's defeat to Spain, and many have put that down to the 114 charges at Man City.