In the 6th round of the Chinese Super League on June 25th, a player's red card penalty in the focus of the match between Dalian People and Henan Songshan Longmen triggered extensive discussion. In this regard, the soccer newspaper reporter Jia Yanfeng invited three senior referee experts to conduct an in-depth analysis, and came to a unanimous conclusion: Ma Xingyu's red card foul is not wrong.
Going back to the match, when the game was in the 25th minute of the first half, Ma Xingyu, No. 28 of Henan Songshan Longmen, accidentally kicked He Yupeng, No. 18 of Dalian Ren, with his foot when he was fighting for a header. The referee didn't penalize him immediately, but during the water break, video referee Ai Koon reminded referee Zhen Wei that Ma Xingyu might have committed a serious foul. Zhen Wei then confirmed through VAR replay and showed Ma Xingyu a direct red card, sending him off the field.
Many fans have questioned the penalty. For this reason, the soccer newspaper reporter interviewed three former international referees, who interpreted the red card from different angles.
The first referee pointed out that it was a clear direct red card action. Although the referee was initially unable to award the penalty in time because he was standing far away, the intervention of VAR allowed him to correct the mistake through video replay. Ma Xingyu's action was an excessive force that threatened the safety of the opposing player to a certain extent, so the nature of the foul was clear.
The second referee was of the opinion that there was no problem with the red card decision. After jumping for the top, Ma Xingyu's left leg was not retrieved in time and he kicked the opponent instead, an action that constituted a red card. Although he denied any violent behavior, the severity of the foul play was enough to warrant a red card.
The third referee looked at the details of the action, pointing out that Ma Xingyu's left calf stomping action had a clear intent to injure, and therefore the red card decision was reasonable. As to whether it is an act of violence, we still need to wait for the referee's report after the match to further determine.
It is worth noting that all three referees agreed that the intervention of VAR was crucial in this case. They emphasized that, according to FIFA regulations, when the referee makes an obvious mistake or a serious mistake out of sight, the video assistant referee has the right to intervene in a timely manner to correct the penalty. The intervention of VAR this time is precisely to make up for the limitations of the referee's field of vision and perspective, fully reflecting the value and significance of VAR.
