There were plenty of people that felt Jamie Vardy was slightly unfortunate to have been sent off at Stoke on Saturday afternoon.
For a start, he took the ball and very little (if any) of Mame Biram Diouf. He’d also been nudged off balance by Glen Johnson as he attempted the tackle. Both of these points were made by Charlie Nicholas – watching the game on Sky’s Soccer Saturday.
“I don’t see that being a red card,” he told the rest of the panel.
However, as pointed out by Jeff Stelling, the fact that the England international had two feet off the ground was enough to convince Craig Pawson that this merited a red (even if the same referee was willing to give Marcos Rojo a yellow for exactly the same thing in midweek).
“He’s got both feet off the ground Charlie,” Stelling explained. “That’s why he’s given it.”
But not even this was enough to silence Nicholas’ defence of Vardy, who rather laughably went on to point out that jumping for a header also sees both of a player’s feet leave the ground.
“Slightly different,” Stelling adds.
https://twitter.com/SarcyFringehead/status/810148214116675584
As you’d probably expect, plenty of viewers were quick to pounce on Nicholas’ comment.
"You've got both feet off the floor when you go up for a header too" is the weirdest defence of a tackle I've ever heard, Charlie Nicholas
— Steven Chicken (@StevenChicken) December 17, 2016
https://twitter.com/LexMCMLXXVII/status/810145316536254466
Did Charlie Nicholas really just compare both feet off the ground in a two footed tackle to both feet off the ground for a header?
— LFC Chat (@LFCChat) December 17, 2016
https://twitter.com/Trev112/status/810146289606426624
Charlie Nicholas just compared having 2 feet off the ground for a tackle as having 2 feet off the ground for a header 🙈🙈🙈 clueless
— Liam Cummins (@LiamJCummins) December 17, 2016
