Nicolas Otamendi is not known for his calm and collected tackling. The Argentine rightly has a reputation for diving in to tackles and today he lived up to that reputation in City's clash against Tottenham Hotspur.
Going into a challenge with Harry Kane, Otamendi lifted his foot well beyond what is considered an acceptable height and caught Kane in the face. Nobody is claiming it was intentional, but undoubtedly clumsy and dangerous.
A lot of fans pointed out that Liverpool's Sadio Mané received harsher punishment when he committed the same offence back in September. The winger was sent off for a catching City keeper Éderson in the face, despite his honest intentions to control the ball.
Otamendi got away with a yellow card, and it wasn't only aggrieved Spurs fans and (fairly) bitter Liverpool fans who expressed their outrage.
https://twitter.com/joel_archie/status/942097049222287360
https://twitter.com/MHChehade/status/942094684746321923
https://twitter.com/MikeMongie/status/942100717388664832
Fans are understandably angry when such a lack of consistency is shown in refereeing decisions, especially in such big games. That Mané red card completely changed the dynamic of the City vs Liverpool fixture and if Otamendi had received the same punishment, Spurs would have been handed a lifeline and a way back into the match which City unsurprisingly dominated.
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