And all of this “ruined the game” talk doesn’t make sense to me. Stuff happens in the run of play, including going down a man. It is part of the game and it is all interesting when viewed through the lens of “how will they react to this one.”

Did it screw Arsenal? Yep…….but tell them to coach their players not to be quite so obvious.

I know that this is the way the rules are written and the refs have to follow the rules, but – as a newer soccer fan – there are a lot of rules and outcomes that are really harsh and binary. I mean….why does a sending off always have to be for the whole game? What if there was an outcome where the guy is sent off for 45 minutes and then can come back? Or leave it to the referees discretion where you’re gone for the entire remainder of the game if it is a foul that is unsafe but it’s only 45 minutes it it is safe, but one of those “last man” type of fouls? Or, why do all penalty kicks have to be from the same spot? You have blatant penalties like this one we’re talking about, but it seems weird that the reward is sometimes the same for questionable handballs in the box. Maybe in those cases give a PK, but it is from the 18 yard line?

I know that suggestions like this make soccer purists throw up in their mouth a little bit and that part of the magic of soccer lies in these wacky binary outcomes…..Still, there’s room for improvement….