By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer
Editor’s note: Each day inbetween now and the kickoff of the veryfirst match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Nov. 20, we’ll reveal a various memory from World Cup history. The countdown from 101 continues with
In any match anywhere, the sort of flying, studs-to-the-chest kick that Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong laid on Xabi Alonso is a clear and apparent red card.
Except this wasn’t any old videogame. It simply occurred to be the 2010 World Cup last inbetween Spain and the Netherlands, and after devoting one of the most ostentatious fouls in World Cup history, De Jong was revealed simply a yellow. Referee Howard Webb discussed later that his view of the obstacle hadactually been blocked; since he was behind Alonso, he — unlike a billion tv audiences throughout the world — couldn’t see from his vantage point how violent the dealwith hadactually been.
With VAR still 8 years away, De Jong remained on the field. Justice was served in the end, though: Alonso, wasn’t hurt and played on, and Spain won its veryfirst World Cup on Andres Iniesta’s additional time objective, handing the still trophyless Oranje their 3rd title-game defeat.
De Jong’s kick-starts wave of reservations
Xabi Alonso took a kick to the chest from Nigel de Jong.
One of the leading soccer reporters in North America, Doug McIntyre hasactually covered United States males’s and females’s nationwide groups at numerous FIFA World Cups. Before signingupwith FOX Sports in 2021, he was a personnel author with ESPN and Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
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