UAF Referees Committee: "Sudakov should have been shown a red card in the match with Minaj"

The Ukrainian Football Association's Referees Committee commented on the episode in the UPL Matchday 6 match between Minaj and Shakhtar (1-4).

Georgy Sudakov

"65th minute. Despite the fact that the referee takes the correct position, he awards a free kick for an offence committed by Sudakov, who, in an attempt to fight for the ball with a Minaj defender, hits the latter in the leg.

From the referee's viewing angle, which probably created a flattened "picture" for him, he did not see the dynamics well and therefore gave the Shakhtar player a warning, but in fact the attacker's actions were extremely dangerous (a straight leg with spikes that were aimed at the opponent's calf). Although the intensity was not high, the place of contact was the calf, and he was also late in his actions relative to the opponent. Of course, this suggests that the decision on the field should be assessed as incorrect, and the offender should have been given a red card for a serious game misconduct," the referees' committee said in a commentary.