On Tuesday night there were two extremely controversial decisions in the Premier League. Luiz was sent off for very slight contact made on Willian Jose as the Wolves striker ran through on goal. Bednarek made a similar foul on Anthony Martial against Manchester United.

One would have thought that both incidents resulted in very harsh sending-offs. Luiz was simply running in a straight line when Willian Jose cocked-back foot clipped slightly with Luiz’s knee. Meanwhile, Martial shimmied past Bednarek who initially moved to make a challenge until pulling out and standing off the attacker. Martial dragged a leg out though and did draw some small contact.

However, despite being very similar incidents, they have for some reason received inconsistent treatment from the FA. Luiz’s suspension will stand, whilst Bednarek will be available for selection in the next game. Interestingly, the apparent difference was seen to be that Bednarek’s challenge involved minimal, if any contact. 

Of all justifications to give for this decision, which are few and far between, this has to be a very weak one. They make it seem as though the contact between Luiz and Jose was at all significant. You can watch a slow motion replay 20 times over and still be uncertain as to if the two even touch or not. 

It really does feel like referees have been against us in recent years. Some fans online have suggested that the FA was fine to overturn the Bednarek decision because that mistake had no bearing on the result of the match. Whereas, admitting that they wrongly dismissed Luiz would be admitting that they directly cost us 3 points against Wolves.

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