Why Brazil's Danilo did not receive red card for high boot vs Croatia: English referee Michael Oliver opts for yellow instead

David Lynch

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Why Brazil's Danilo did not receive red card for high boot vs Croatia: English referee Michael Oliver opts for yellow instead image

Brazil's World Cup semifinal clash with Croatia featured an early flashpoint as Danilo received a booking for a controversial challenge on Josip Juranovic.

Receiving a lofted pass on the right-hand side, Juranovic had looked to skip past Danilo by nodding the ball beyond him down the wing. 

However, he was blocked by the Brazil man's raised boot, prompting referee Michael Oliver to get involved.

Why did the referee give Danilo a yellow card?

For Oliver to produce a red card in this instance, he would have to be satisfied that Danilo had committed serious foul play.

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According to the laws of the game, that constitutes: "A tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play."

While the challenge clearly did not use excessive force, it could be argued that Juranovic's safety was endangered by how high his opponent's boot was. 

As such, it is perhaps a surprise that VAR did not intervene and ask Oliver to take a second look at the tackle on the pitchside monitor.

Who was VAR in Croatia vs Brazil?

Dutch official Pol van Boekel was serving as the video assistant referee for Brazil vs Croatia.

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He was joined by three video assistant referees: Massimiliano Irrati (Italy), Kathryn Nesbitt (United States) and Juan Soto (Venezuela).

Michael Oliver red cards in World Cup, Premier League

Across the 331 Premier League matches he has officiated in his career, Oliver has handed out 46 red cards at a rate of one every 0.14 games.

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Oliver is appearing at a World Cup for the first time and handed out 13 yellow cards but no reds across his first two games of the tournament.

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David Lynch

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David Lynch is a freelance football journalist primarily covering Liverpool FC. He has reported on the the Reds for over a decade for publications such as the Sunday Mirror and Evening Standard, carving out a reputation as a trusted voice on all things Anfield in the process. Having followed Liverpool across England and Europe over the course of his career, David has filed from illustrious venues such as Camp Nou, the Allianz Arena and the Estadio do Dragao, as well as from multiple Champions League finals.