VAR Controversy - To See Red Or Not - That Is The Question

The short answer as to whether or not Wolves' Hee-Chan should have seen red against Arsenal is: a studs-up challenge can be a red-card offence, but it depends on the level of danger and intent.

What the Laws of the Game say (IFAB)

Under Law 12 – Fouls and Misconduct, a tackle is a sending-off offence (red card) if it is judged to be serious foul play.

A challenge is considered serious foul play if it:

• Endangers the safety of an opponent, or
• Uses excessive force or brutality

Although a studs-up challenge is not automatically a red card, it is one of the clearest indicators referees use when deciding that a challenge endangers safety and when the studs connect, especially in a sliding tackle I'm not sure how anyone can say it does not endanger the safety of the opponent, in this case, Jurien Timber. 

When studs-up = RED card 🔴

Referees are very likely to show red if:

• Studs are exposed and make contact with:
  
• the shin
• the knee
• the ankle
• The tackle is:
  
• high
• forceful
• late
• made with a straight leg
• The opponent is unable to protect themselves

This is often described in referee guidance as "studs exposed with excessive force".

When it might be YELLOW 🟨

A studs-up action may be downgraded to yellow if:

• Contact is low (foot or lower ankle)
• Force is limited
• The tackler pulls out or makes minimal contact
• The opponent is not endangered

This is usually classed as reckless rather than dangerous. 

Let's look at those four categories: 1) contact was low. I make no broken bones about that, but the force was not exactly limited, the contact was not minimal and the opponent was endangered. Overall, it has to be red! When are VAR going to get these decisions right? It's got to the point where I don't always celebrate goals for fear that VAR will chalk them off! 

Key phrase referees use

"Endangering the safety of an opponent"

If a studs-up challenge meets that threshold, it is a mandatory red card, regardless of intent.

VAR context (important)

VAR reviews often upgrade yellows to reds when slow-motion shows:

• Studs making clear, forceful contact
• A locked or straight leg
• Point of contact above the ankle

This is why decisions sometimes change after review. So will this decision change? Probably not, based on the above. The studs made clear, forceful contact so it was only an ankle breaker rather than a leg breaker, as Timber's leg may or may not have been locked or totally straight. However, it was pretty close. The point of contact was below the ankle, not above, so on two or one and a half counts out of three, it's not red.

Let's make no broken bones about it, Wolves are a good team and don't deserve to go down based on that performance. However, all players need protection. Arsenal have a lot of injuries right now and part of that is down to poor officiating. VAR hasn't improved that. In fact, it's been worse since VAR got involved. 

Bottom line

• ❌ Studs-up ≠ automatic red
• ✅ Studs-up + danger/excessive force = red card
• ⚠️ Studs-up with limited force = possible yellow
• The real bottom line is are match officials doing a good job? I'll let you decide.