PGMOL expert stunned by ‘reckless’ Casemiro incident in Man United draw vs Bournemouth
Peter Bankes completely lost control of Bournemouth’s match with Manchester United after Casemiro was spared a textbook yellow card, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the Man United midfielder should have been issued with a clear yellow card for catching Evanilson with a high boot.
Sunday’s clash at the Vitality Stadium certainly wasn’s short on controversy, with Evanilson later sent off for a studs-up challenge on Noussair Mazraoui despite a clear slip when the tackle was reviewed by VAR.
Bournemouth were well on course for victory deep after Antoine Semenyo’s well-taken finish in the first half found the back of Andre Onana’s net; teed up by a superb flick on the volley by his striker Evanilson.
However, with the Cherries down to 10 men for much of the second half, United’s pressure eventually told and Rasmus Hojlund popped up at the near post to equalise in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Casemiro avoids card after ‘reckless’ Evanilson incident
Bournemouth and Man United’s clash on the south coast had already seen plenty of action by the time Casemiro went chest-high on Evanilson, with Semenyo’s opener fired home just minutes beforehand.
Prior to that, Tyler Adams had been lucky to get away with a 50-50 challenge on Alejandro Garnacho which only resulted in a yellow card, and that should have been the same punishment for Casemiro.
| Bournemouth | Statistics | Man United |
| 1 | Goals | 1 |
| 0.67 | xG | 2.57 |
| 1 / 8 | Shots on Target | 6 / 25 |
| 39% | Possession | 61% |
| 5 | Corners | 10 |
Casemiro and Evanilson both went up for a high ball on halfway after a Bournemouth throw-in, and the Brazilian caught his compatriot with a set of studs into the ribcage which left Evanilson on the deck.
Hackett reviewed the incident and couldn’t believe that Bankes failed to give Casemiro a yellow card for his “reckless” attempted challenge, as by the letter of the law, there should have never been any doubt.
Peter Bankes lost his grip on Bournemouth v Man United – Keith Hackett
Asked by Football Insider if Bankes should have shown Casemiro a yellow card to deter other players from making similarly high challenges in the future, the former FIFA referee said:
“Oh dear, I don’t think Peter Bankes is having one of his better games…”, Hackett told Football Insider.
“The high boot of Casemiro is clearly reckless, and there’s only one outcome in the law; and that is a yellow card.
“Why no yellow card for that incident? Why was it missed? It’s beyond me – come on referees, apply the law!”
Evanilson seeing such a brutal and reckless challenge ignored by Bankes could well have affected his decision to slide in on Mazraoui in the second half, which resulted in that controversial red card.
Had Bournemouth not been reduced to 10 men as a result, they’d have been much more likely to see out a victory; instead, they were held to a 1-1 draw which all-but ends their hopes of European qualification.