Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has discussed the incident which led to Adama Traore receiving a yellow card during Wolves’ victory at Arsenal.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side travelled to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday and returned to the West Midlands with all three points thanks to goals from Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence.
Although the visitors, in our view, performed brilliantly and were worthy winners, the fixture was unfortunately overshadowed by the injury suffered by Raul Jimenez.
The Mexican forward was involved in a nasty clash of heads with Arsenal’s David Luiz and was taken straight to hospital where he underwent surgery on his fractured skull (as per BBC Sport).
In the second half, a less severe but frustrating incident occurred involving the Spaniard Adama Traore.
The player found himself in a one on one situation with Gabriel (0:51), whom he skipped past but the Brazilian made contact with the 24-year-old, bringing him down for what could have been a penalty kick.
Despite the replays showing contact between the two, Michael Oliver, the referee decided to book Traore for simulation.
Speaking exclusively to This is Futbol, Halsey shared his view on the incident, here is what he had to say:
“When you caution a player who you think has simulated you, sometimes you go looking for trouble. For me, if I was Michael [Oliver], I’d have done nothing and carried on with the game.
“For me, it wasn’t simulation, it was a mixture of trying to keep his balance and there was a little bit of minimal contact but not to say it was a penalty.
“Players have to go down now because if they stay on their feet, they won’t get a penalty if they’re caught because it’s a credibility issue for a referee. If a player gets caught and he stays on his feet, very rarely a referee is going to give a penalty.
“In that situation, I always advise referees not to go looking for trouble.”
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Halsey continued: “Traore, he is not a player that goes down easy, is he? If you’re sprinting past a defender, that slightest little touch will knock you off balance and will send you to ground.
“It’s not about knowing the laws of the game, it’s about knowing the game of football and a little bit of contact, going through at pace, you can lose your balance and you will go down easy.”
It’s clear that Mark Halsey, an experienced former Premier League referee who took charge of over 250 games in the English top flight, doesn’t feel that Traore should have been booked for simulation.