Sunday 19 August 2018 00:04, UK
Jamie Carragher, Craig Bellamy and Danny Gabbidon discussed whether there could have been three red cards in Cardiff v Newcastle.
Kenedy was fortunate to escape punishment when kicking out after being tackled before half-time, but worse was to come for Newcastle team-mate Isaac Hayden who was shown a straight red card for a tackle from behind after the break.
And Harry Arter, on his Cardiff debut, was lucky not to follow him down the tunnel for a high foul on Joselu 10 minutes from the end, escaping with a booking instead.
But what did the Sky Sports pundits make of the incidents?
Gabbidon: He's a very lucky boy. If the referee sees it, I think it's a straight red card. He's right there, but not looking at the incident really, and I think it might have done Newcastle a favour had he gone off because the incident summed up his incident for me.
Carragher: Kenedy should have been sent off. I cannot understand how the referee hasn't seen it, because he gives a free-kick for it. He kicks out and it's a red card.
Whether the referee has followed the ball only he knows, but he gives a free-kick. I think he knows something has happened and that he's missed something.
Carragher: I think with this incident, he's just missed it and knows something's gone on. Now that is high - and it catches him on the back of the calf, referees may come on here and say that's a red card, but I think if that's given as a yellow card no-one complains or bats an eyelid.
Some people might say it's an orange, but I think it's a bit harsh. Referees may come on and say excessive force, you're endangering an opponent, that type of thing - I think that was very harsh. I think he's made a big mistake in the first one, and I think he looks at that and thinks he can't get two wrong, so if it's borderline he's going. I felt a little bit for him.
Bellamy: I can see why he's given it. It's a bit too high for me, there's some force and he's come on at half-time and given him a torrid time, he's fouled him a few times before already. From the referee's point of view, if you catch the end bit, it looks high and reckless, I can understand it being a red card.
Carragher: This might be the worst one. It absolutely has to be a red card. You can nick someone's ankles and get a yellow with a counter-attack, but he absolutely volleys him knee-height. It's worse than Kenedy's. Hayden is at least going for the ball, but that's the worst of the lot.
I don't think the referee had a good game, but that's a shocking challenge. That could really seriously hurt someone. You hear about broken legs or over the top challenges, and he's volleying his knee like it's a ball on the edge of the box.
Gabbidon: I can remember Granit Xhaka doing something similar for Arsenal in his first season at the Emirates and he got a red card for it, so talking about consistency, there's no intention to play the ball, it's cynical and for me it's a red card.
Carragher: This thing about consistency with referees - we're never going to get it. I'm not using that as a stick to beat them with, because we're all different, we all see things slightly differently. Some things happen at a hundred miles an hour, sometimes, if we're totally honest, now and again some of them will bottle a decision.
What you do want is consistency from the same referee in the same game.
Bellamy: We all want to be consistent, I wanted that as a player but you're going to have bad games, it will happen. But as Jamie said, if it's in the same game, and you've made a decision, your consistency in the game should set the standard and tone. I felt he was caught in between two many times and if you are, then you're going to make the wrong decision.
