Not entirely true. http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/footballdevelopment/refereeing/81/42/36/log2013en_neutral.pdf Page 121 "A player must be penalised for playing in a dangerous manner if he kicks or attempts to kick the ball when the goalkeeper is in the process of releasing it" "• If a player plays in a dangerous manner in a “normal” challenge, the referee should not take any disciplinary action. If the action is made with obvious risk of injury, the referee should caution the player" So it was a foul, and indirect free kick, but only a booking if the ref believed Hart was likely to break his foot kicking Smalling up the arse. So not a booking in other words. Tbh the biggest scandal of the whole thing was that Hart wasn't sent off for charging across the pitch and pushing his head into the ref's face. please log in to view this image Fair to say that if any Utd player had done that there would have been calls for a ten match ban.
He grafted yesterday, as did McNair & Blackett. Rode their luck at times, but as the match progressed, confidence grew. De gea was magnificent, and must give credit to Carrick too.
What I liked was how vocal he was. Clearly seeing himself as the senior player in that back 3 he was barking orders and pointing Blackett and McNair to cover areas. We need that every game. BTW McNair has made 4 starts for United. United have won all 4 games.
