Despite many questioning how Gregory Wüthrich was not given a red card for his bad challenge from behind on Wellington Phoenix’s David Ball, Perth Glory coach Tony Popovic says it was a ‘clear yellow card’ offence.
Glory’s 2-1 win over the Phoenix could have been all so different if Wüthrich was shown a red card for his tackle.
The 25th-minute incident saw Wüthrich go in with both feet from behind on Ball, who was brought to the ground in a potential leg breaker.
“That was leg break material” Should this have been a red⁉️🤔
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— FOX Sports Football (@FOXFOOTBALL) October 27, 2019
Red cards change games, so Wellington has a right to feel hard done by.
Most A-League fans, as well as the commentators, thought it should have been a red but referee Alex King only gave Wüthrich a yellow – a decision backed by VAR.
One man was steadfast in his opinion about the challenge being a yellow card only offence.
“Never a red card, never a red card…you thought it was? For you to even think it was a red card is a problem,” Popovic said.
“It’s a tackle from behind, yes, he went for and almost got the ball. I think he even made contact with the ball. It’s a clear yellow card.”
Popovic said every challenge needed to be debated but in this case, it was not a red card offence.
“This isn’t a red card…there are no studs into the player,” he said.
“He partly made contact with the player and the ball…it’s a yellow. That’s it. This shouldn’t even be a discussion point.”
Popovic backed up his point by stating Wüthrich was intending to go for the ball, but when pressed on whether the intent was the thing that mattered, he demanded to change the line of questioning.
Similarly, Wellington Phoenix head coach Ufuk Talay refused to be drawn into the matter.
“My opinion doesn’t matter, the referee has made a call and made a judgement,” he said.
Perth strolled to a 2-1 win – a scoreline that flattered the Phoenix. They had double the shots on target and Wellington were only kept in the match thanks to some brilliant goalkeeping from Stefan Marinovic.
In addition to the win, there was more cause for celebration for the visitors as Bruno Fornaroli scored his first goal for Perth.
With their first win under their belt Glory will continue their title defence at home against the Central Coast Mariners, while Wellington face Melbourne City away next week.
Feature image credit: Perth Glory
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