Fry falls foul of the law as straight red changes the game
DAEL Fry had been looking forward to his first game at the Stadium of Light, but it’s fair to say the day didn’t go to plan for the proud Middlesbrough defender,
In a game-changing moment, Fry was sent off just four minutes into the second half, while also conceding a penalty with his foul on Ross Stewart when the scoreline was still goalless. The moment has caused plenty of debate, with Boro head coach Michael Carrick feeling that it was neither a red card nor a foul.
Stewart got the wrong side of Fry as the ball went over their heads and the Sunderland man ran through on goal with the pair tussling shoulder to shoulder.
Referee James Linnington decided that Fry’s final contact with Stewart was in the penalty area and, regardless of where the major contact (if any) was made, the final contact counts.
And while replays seemed to suggest that the contact between the two players was finished before Stewart fell into the box, Linnington, with no VAR in the Championship to help him, gave the penalty. And as Fry was the last man, a straight red card was also given to the Boro defender.
That did leave some Boro fans questioning the double-jeopardy law, however, which was brought in a couple of seasons ago to stop teams being punished twice in moments like this where it’s a penalty kick.
However, in terms of why he sent Fry off, Linnington applied the law correctly, assuming he adjudged that Fry’s challenge wasn’t an attempt to play the ball – which makes sense given the ball had been knocked on by the Sunderland striker as the two came together. The doublejeopardy law states: “Where a player commits an offence against an opponent within their own penalty area which denies an opponent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and the referee awards a penalty kick, the offender is cautioned if the offence was an attempt to play the ball; in all other circumstances (eg holding, pulling, pushing, no possibility to play the ball etc) the offending player must be sent off.”
That isn’t relevant if the contact is correctly deemed to be outside the box. In that case, the double-jeopardy law wouldn’t have been applicable and, as the last man deemed to have denied a clear goalscoring opportunity, Fry would have seen red, but Sunderland would have only had a free-kick. That could have had a real impact on the result too.
If Boro decide to appeal, they must prove that ‘the referee made an obvious error in sending the player off.’ They’ve successfully appealed red cards in recent seasons, with Neil
Warnock praising club secretary Karen Nelson in February 2021 for her ‘unbelievable’ dossier in proving a Paddy McNair dismissal should be overturned.
If Boro don’t appeal, or lose, the better news is that the punishment is not too extreme. A red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity carries a one-match suspension, meaning Fry would only miss next weekend’s clash with Watford.
With Darragh Lenihan returning to fitness for the Sunderland game and Paddy McNair playing well of late, Boro could cope without Fry for one game should they be required to.