That Nani red card against Real Madrid

VorZakone

What would Kenny G do?
Joined
May 9, 2013
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So it's been about a decade since that red card. And in that decade I've often seen similar looking moments where I thought to myself "Nani got red for this" and no red card was given...

So...anyone changed their mind on it whether it was a red?

 
I think it looks more reddish watching it today because referees now give more reds (than I would like) for those dangerous but entirely accidental, non-malicious challenges, primarily due to VAR and slow-motion distorting things. Based on the refereeing standards at the time, which is the only relevant measure, it absolutely wasn’t a red card.
 
That's a yellow, not a red. Far too strict. I think even Mourinho said that it was the wrong call after the game?
 
It was a harsh red then, but put it this way: it wouldn't get overturned with VAR
 
I remember being absolutely shocked and fuming at the time. Genuinely couldn't understand how it was given. Today you could see it as a red (though it would still be very harsh) given the slow mo VAR likelihood, but back then there's no chance it was a red. It's probably the decision I remember making me the most angry, football wise.

Edit: basically what @giorno said!
 
VorZakone said:
So it's been about a decade since that red card. And in that decade I've often seen similar looking moments where I thought to myself "Nani got red for this" and no red card was given...

So...anyone changed their mind on it whether it was a red?

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This hurts more than the 7-0 loss against Liverpool, or the 2 CL final loss against Barcelona.
 
I’d have been much less pissed off about it if the referee pulled the red card straight out

A big part of my annoyance is that he wasn’t going to give anything, but then let the Real Madrid players convince him
 
Not even a foul these days, as witnessed in the City game.
 
To be clear: it was harsh but not strictly a mistake. Was so back then, would be so now. Going with your leg high like that is reckless, no two ways about it. Yeah he wasn't aware of Xabi coming in to challenge but the onus is very much on the players to be aware of their surroundings
 
It was a harsh red card. It was completely accidental by Nani. I think a Madrid player did it to a Dortmund player in the next round and got away with it.

But, I was also annoyed that Nani got himself into that mess and allowed the referee to make that call. Whatever the decision, it was avoidable.
 
giorno said:
To be clear: it was harsh but not strictly a mistake. Was so back then, would be so now. Going with your leg high like that is reckless, no two ways about it. Yeah he wasn't aware of Xabi coming in to challenge but the onus is very much on the players to be aware of their surroundings
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Arbeloa. You were probably thinking of Xabi vs De Jong :D
 
the caf and that red card = the daily express and princess di.
 
It's obviously a foul, but still not a straight red. There would be a much higher chance of a red being given for that challenge now than in 2013, but I'd still say a yellow would be fair. At the time, a red card was ridiculous, but we have gotten used to less dangerous challenges getting red cards.
 
I cant believe we are still talking about this all this time later, its like when Liverpool fans still moan about a penalty Howard Webb gave us against Spurs back in 08/09
 
The high foot rule in football has always been a pile of steaming BS, if not, why aren't bicyle kicks immediately ruled out? So if you can then score with a high boot, you should be able to use your foot to control the ball, which is what Nani was obviously doing.

Unless there is actual intent to injure a player (Nigel De Jong vs Spain being a classic example), it should be immaterial whether or not a boot is deemed high.

The actual idea that that is defensible as a straight red is complete and utter garbage. It's on the basis that Nani should have known where Arbeloa was, which is impossible because the ball was coming over his head and Arbeloa was sprinting in on an angle to chest the ball in mid air.
 
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Never a red. And it still bothers me that we lost and didn't get the chance to potentially reach the finals in Fergie's last season.
Plus it still bugs me that we didn't secure at least one more CL title under him, especially considering how far we are currently from achieving such success, while City, Liverpool and Chelsea have all won it once since then
 
Never a red card, without any question, but for some reason we do see diabolical decisions like this in football all the time. The one that gets under my skin even more than this red card was the offside decision given against Scholes v Porto. It was an incredibly consequential decision that decided the outcome of the tie and punched Jose's ticket to managerial glory.
 
We were so comfortable in the game up until that point too.
I think we'd have went all the way that season if it weren't for bad luck.
 
giorno said:
To be clear: it was harsh but not strictly a mistake. Was so back then, would be so now. Going with your leg high like that is reckless, no two ways about it. Yeah he wasn't aware of Xabi coming in to challenge but the onus is very much on the players to be aware of their surroundings
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Yeah agreed. I reckon a yellow would’ve sufficed, because there wasn’t huge force. But he was careless and, had he been more aware of what was going on, could’ve pulled out of the challenge.
 
Never a red. That ref cost us the tie. Was my first game at OT too, and it ended horribly.
 
We were the better side until the red card and deserved to go through.
 
At the time i thought never a red, if Arbeloa had gone with his head it could have been nasty. I think taking off my rose tinted glasses it's a red card. Id be fuming if a player did that against us and VAR allowed it to go. Back then it was probably a yellow seeing though nobody was hurt by it though.
 
it’s more of a red than I think some will admit, but still harsh. In the VAR era however it’s only become redder.
 
Can't wait for the Netflix documentary about the biggest injustice in footballing history.
 
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