In modern football, the very hint of contact between one player’s hand and another’s face is enough to result in a red card.
Mentioning no names, some players in the professional game know this point very well, and are willing to pretend even the slightest contact from an opponent – whether intended or not – is enough to fracture their jaw.
This sort of thing certainly doesn’t come naturally to Aaron Ramsey, as his brief tangle with Edison Cavani showed on Wednesday night.
At the time, Arsenal were trailing Paris Saint-Germain by the Uruguayan’s goal although Alexis Sanchez had just won a penalty for the home side. As Olivier Giroud prepared to step up and take it, cameras picked up Cavani shoving (or punching, as some people are claiming) Ramsey.
On first inspection, Cavani’s hand appears to land on the Welshman’s chest, and definitely not his face.
Cavani punch on Ramsey! #ARSPSG pic.twitter.com/RGNoqD7vtI
— Desgracia Fan TV (@1886FC) November 23, 2016
However, other angles suggest that Cavani may indeed have brushed Ramsey’s chin.
https://twitter.com/TogetherArsenal/status/801532404754239497
Either way, it certainly wasn’t worthy of Ramsey’s rather laughable reaction – clutching his chin and appearing to shout out in pain.
Cavani somehow stayed on the field and (thankfully) Ramsey thought better of throwing himself to the ground in mock agony.
