There has been plenty said about the Kyogo penalty on Saturday afternoon.
In fact, let me rephrase that. There has been plenty said about the Giakoumakis penalty miss, but the actual foul on Kyogo?
Almost every commentator condemned Ayo Obileye’s moment of madness when he slapped Furuhashi on the back of the head after the Japanese striker slightly shoved the bulky defender after a move broke down late in the game.
But there was one observer that seemed to have a bigger issue with Kyogo’s reaction to being assaulted on the pitch than the actual physical act itself.
Speaking on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard, Alex Rae had his say on the foul and whilst he agreed that the penalty awarded was the correct decision, most of his condemnation seemed to be levied at Kyogo and not Obileye, “I thought it was embarrassing, the actual contact doesn’t justify your legs going away“
“He actually goes to try and hold the front of his face, then realises he has been hit in the back of the head.
“For me, it was a penalty because you can’t hit people in the box, especially in the head.
“So, I don’t have any issues with that side of it, however, to go down in the manner which he did was embarrassing.“
Watching the foul, you can see the force and direction of the slap from a 6ft 2′ defender to a 5ft 5′ striker. And who is to tell Kyogo what his pain threshold should be?
Put it this way, when you get hit unexpectedly on the head in general it can be quite painful regardless of the force. But an intentional slap from a guy almost a foot taller and bulkier than you?
And can someone show me Kyogo’s legs “going away”?
The only thing that’s embarrassing here is Rae’s comments.