Kyle Walker: Strange Scenes As Manchester City Star ‘Gets’ Two Yellow Cards but Remains on the Pitch

Kyle Walker: Strange Scenes As Manchester City Star ‘Gets’ Two Yellow Cards but Remains on the Pitch

Martin Moses
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:29 PM
  • Fans were left confused after Kyle Walker appeared to escape a red card
  • However, it seems the answer might well be a case of mistaken identity
  • Walker last 90 minutes in England's Euro 2024 qualifier game with Italy

Manchester players played had a difficult night in Naples as England scraped to a 2-1 win over Italy, to begin their Euro 2024 pursuit in top gear.

Goals from Harry Kane and Declan Rice rendered Mateo Retegui's first goal for his nation technically useless in the Three Lions' first win over Gli Azzurri since 2012.

Kyle Walker, Manchester City, England, Italy, Euro 2024, Jack Grealish, Giovani Di Lorenzo
Kyle Walker during the match between England and Italy. Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini.
Source: Getty Images

Despite the win, both Manchester City and Man United players could have wished for a better outing.

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 strike, it was an off night for the Manchester stars.

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However, nothing was as bizarre as Kyle Walker receiving two yellow cards and remaining on the pitch. Two yellow cards often meana red card, with the player leaving the field of play and automatically picking up a suspension for the next game.

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.

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.

England did get a red card eventually, with Luke Shaw getting sent off after two quick yellow cards nine minutes after the Walker incident.

Grealish misses open chance

At the same time, Sports Brief reported on Grealish missed a glaring opportunity to get his name on the scoresheet during the opening round of Euro 2024 qualifiers.

The Man City star had a hands-over-the-face moment when he missed a chance to put England 3-0 up right before the break with an open goal in front of him.

Kane did the donkey work to tee up Grealish and with Gianluigi Donnarumma beaten and scampering to get back to position, all Grealish needed to do was score.

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Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)
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