Can we just ask the question again, how in the hell was this not a red card?
It’s not fair on match-winner Andres Iniesta, but ask most people what they remember most from the 2010 World Cup Final and they’ll probably tell you it was Nigel De Jong’s kung-fu kick on Xabi Alonso and referee Howard Webb’s baffling refusal to punish it with a red card.
Four years on and Spain and Holland meet again in the opening game in Group B tonight and to mark the occasion, literally, in fact, Adidas recreated the infamous incident with a couple of pictures featuring the Real Madrid midfielder that may have slightly exaggerated the condition he was in after the spectacular mid-air collision with the former Manchester City man.
Commenting on the collision four years on, Alonso said: “It may have hurt to have been kicked in the chest, but the pain meant nothing when I was celebrating winning the trophy for Spain. The World Cup is not a time to think about such things. The pain is temporary, the victory is forever.”
The pain is temporary alright, but it still hurts to watch every single time you set eyes on it.
What were you thinking Howard?
