As part of the 16th day of Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain travelled to face AS Monaco and won 2-4 (video summary here). After the match, Monaco striker Breel Embolo commented on Wilfried Singo’s foul on Gianluigi Donnarumma. For him, it didn’t deserve a red card, even if he understands the protests.
Embolo “If it had been on the other side, we would have done everything to make it yellow…”
“Fortunately the referee didn’t kill the match. It would have been a shame for everyone if the match had gone to 11 against 10. It’s true that a penalty went to “Gigi’s” head, but Singo didn’t want it. If it had gone the other way, we’d have done everything to make sure it was yellow… I can understand PSG’s protests.
Embolo “He can’t become invisible…”
Red? No, because it’s not an action where he wants to hurt. He strikes and then jumps. He can’t become invisible… At the most, that’s worth a yellow, but as for me, Will’s first yellow wasn’t necessarily worth a yellow, maybe the referee compensated (smile). We’re asking referees to be sensitive, so maybe things went our way”, he declared. “OM-PSG, Harit took red in the middle, everyone shouted. We’re asking for sensitivity.”
It’s easy to talk when you’re in the referee’s favor. If the action had gone the other way, Monaco and Embolo would have asked for the red card. We hear the idea of the player who doesn’t do it on purpose, which is fortunate. That said, it has to be said that body control is essential in soccer. He misses his dive, he misses his first touch, he leaves his sole foot forward, he didn’t do it on purpose, but he’s guilty all the same.
If you don’t see this kind of gesture every weekend, there must be a reason: it’s an attack. Whether it was unintentional or not is another matter, but the idea of seeing a player go off with such an injury must never go unpunished.
Embolo talks about spectacle, but you have to stop with that. Red cards are no tribute to the pitch, but at some point, if a player is guilty of a bad gesture, sending him off doesn’t mean “killing the show”, it means ensuring that the rules are respected.
