Bogle was fortunate to escape even a booking.
The incident unfolded in strange circumstances. Bogle positioned his body to challenge Tel with his right foot, and while attempting to plant his left foot, he ended up on top of the Spurs player’s ankle.
At full speed, the challenge looked harmless, which is likely why referee Brooks did not show a card after giving the foul.
Once the slow-motion replays were examined, however, it became clear that the contact with Tel was very ugly, involving a sharp twist of the ankle.
The moment could easily have prompted VAR Tony Harrington to take Brooks to the pitchside monitor for an on-field review and potentially send him off.
Harrington spent far too long looking at the replays, perhaps feeling he had more time while Tel received treatment. But longer reviews tend to create doubt about the process.
Harrington eventually told Brooks: “I’m confirming the on-field decision of no red card. There’s a lack of speed going into the challenge and he’s stepping into the tackle. Confirming a reckless challenge.”
A reckless challenge warrants a yellow card, but the VAR is unable to intervene and advise that Bogle should have been booked.
Something else Harrington said is important: “stepping into the challenge.”
It does not mean a player cannot be sent off, but this is far less likely to result in a VAR review for a red card because such challenges naturally come with less force.
How does this compare with Mateta’s VAR red card against Spurs last week?
There is an argument that Mateta, who was booked on the field, made less forceful contact with Micky van de Ven’s ankle. Yet the nature of the challenge is crucially different.
Mateta made a lunging, stretching tackle with studs leading, the kind generally considered to come with a higher degree of force and potential danger to the opponent.
That said, even though Bogle was not really making a challenge, the nature of the contact meant many felt there should have been a VAR review for a red card.
