Manchester United players had a difficult night in Naples as England scraped a 2-1 win over Italy to kick off their Euro 2024 campaign in high gear.
Mateo Retegui’s first goal for his country was rendered technically ineffective by goals from Harry Kane and Declan Rice in the Three Lions’ first win over Gli Azzurri since 2012.
Despite the win, both Manchester City and Manchester United players could have done better. From Luke Shaw’s red card to Jack Grealish’s open goal miss to Phil Foden’s 10-minute cameo to Harry Maguire’s role in Retegui’s goal, the Manchester stars had a bad night.
Nothing, however, was more bizarre than Kyle Walker receiving two yellow cards and remaining on the pitch.
kyle walker 2 yellow cards not sent off pic.twitter.com/1RDCa751Fw
— Para II (@ParacelsusII) March 23, 2023
For those who were following the game, Walker was thought to have received his first yellow card in the 53rd minute.
He was then shown another yellow card in the 71st minute for time-wasting but surprisingly, referee Srdjan Jovanovic did not produce a red card, much to the bewilderment of fans.
The first yellow card wasn’t shown in real time on television, with broadcasters and live sites confirming the full-back had been booked.
The second yellow card was visible to everyone following the game on TV.
Why did Walker avoid red?
So, did Walker receive a card in the 53rd minute or not? When he got his second booking, Italy players did not seem to remind the referee that he was on a yellow card already, which means the players knew the first card was not his – despite the confusion among fans.
Kyle Walker has been booked twice and is still playing 😭 pic.twitter.com/KTvz7OQEAl
— Barstool Football (@StoolFootball) March 23, 2023
As the confusion and debate raged online, fans claimed it was instead Jack Grealish who was booked in the 53rd minute and not his Man City teammate.
However, according to UEFA’s official website, neither Grealish nor Walker received a card in the 53rd minute and thus, Walker rightfully deserved to remain on the pitch. Bizarrely, the player recorded to have been booked around that time was Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
The contested incident happened during a confrontation between both sets of players, with Jovanovic brandishing a yellow card.
The Napoli captain must have said something to the referee, with broadcasters thinking it was Walker’s fault.