First off I'm not a fan of either team. That said I expect something from a game with teams of this caliber. Thankfully I got that. The talking point for the game was/is the red card to Vincent Kompany in the 12th minute. The commentator seemed incensed because he felt it wasn't even a foul, i.e. no contact, no . . . There was no contact cause the player with the ball had to jump out of the way in order to avoid getting hit. Hit with one or both of V. Kompany's studs. It wasn't a particularly fast or "aggressive" slide, in fact he doesn't really slide all that far at all and seems in control throughout. But the bottoms of both boots were showing and you could easily call the tackle as reckless (foul) even careless (foul with a caution). I really don't have a problem with this being considered excessive force. BUT, if this is the bar we set for excessive force we have a number of tackles later in the game that may warrent more than a simple foul. Giggs has a tackle from behind that never touched the ball and got quite a bit of player just below the knee. It was called as a foul but does it warrent more than that?

Man U. did have 2 very nice goals in the first half plus the PK, well deserved. All in all a good game. The red card in the 12th min just added to the overall dynamic of the game.

This is from a Champions League qualifying match, second leg. Malmo (in blue) had won the first leg 1-0. Rangers (in red) are playing at home and know this is their chance to play in Europe, with a bonus of around $8million in television and ticket revenue. So a lot to play for.

It's the 18th min and #21 from Malmo has a half hearted tackle on #16 Rangers . . .

There are some options for the referee and some requirements as well. Showing the red card and ejecting #16 Rangers is a done deal. Some variety of this incident shows up on refresher tests every few years. You pick an object; ball, shoe, etc., and throw it at someone your going to be ejected from the game.

Now we have the options. What do we do with #21 Malmo? Was the tackle careless, reckless, or with undo force? Did he engage in simulation in order to make the incident worse then it was? Once #16 is gone from the game your job is not over.

The game ended 1-1, with Malmo winning on aggregate 2-1. Bad day for Rangers.

. . . that the keeper is going to get a red card here.