Manchester City defender Marc Guehi avoided a red card during the Champions League clash with Porto despite leaving a rival bloodied, sparking fury from the Porto players and fans.
Guehi, 26, had been handed a start by Enzo Maresca when he clashed with Gabri Veiga on the stroke of half-time. Veiga, 24, was left bloodied and replays showed Guehi's arm had caught the Spanish midfielder as they challenged for a header.
No booking for the challenge
The Englishman wasn't booked for the challenge, leading to a chorus of boos from the stands and fury from the Porto players. Michael Brown, speaking on Soccer Special, said: "It is really, really strong. Is it out of control? He tries to be committed but he has caught him."
While, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Pat Nevin added: "Where do you put your arm? If you're going for the header and someone is lower you can't make your arm disappear. They could only make one argument that Marc Guehi is reckless. This referee has got everything spot on so far."
Social media reaction
However, fans on social media saw the challenge quite differently. One wrote: "Guehi wasn’t even carded for that attempted murder and everyone’s quiet. Just imagine the fake outrage that would’ve been pouring in if it was an Arsenal player!"
"I wonder if we'll have three days of clips of Guehi elbowing someone in the head and it being called cheating or not," a second fumed. As a third posted: "No one will talk about Guehi because he is not Gabriel and doesn't play for Arsenal!" And another added: "Marc Guehi getting away with murder here..."
Protests continue at half-time
The protests continued at half-time, with Porto players continuing to question the referee about his decision to allow Guehi to continue. The Porto fans were even more angry, and their boos got louder as the referee made his way off the pitch and towards the dressing room.
