Craig Pawson had a bit of a nightmare on Saturday.
You know things didn’t go well when Claudio Ranieri, one of the most affable and well-behaved managers in the Premier League, waits after the final whistle to confront a referee like the demon child of Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho.
Even Claudio has lost his cool with referee, Craig Pawson. That I never thought I'd see.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) December 17, 2016
Ranieri was unhappy with Pawson’s performance during Leicester City’s 2-2 draw away to Stoke City.
The referee sent-off Jamie Vardy for a two-footed challenge on Mame Biram Diouf, but the Leicester striker made no contact, the red-card seem excessive and the club have appealed his suspension.
The fact Pawson only gave Manchester United’s Marcus Rojo a yellow card for his two-footed lunge on Wilfried Zaha a few days previous against Crystal Palace made the decision even more difficult to accept for Leicester.
However, it turns out that wasn’t even his worst decision in the game.
Very odd… https://t.co/KzVD389toH
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) December 17, 2016
Pawson booked Erik Pieters in the 67th minute.
However, it turns out he should have booked his Stoke teammate Bruno Martins Indi instead. The yellow card has been transferred due to “mistaken identity,” according to Liam Blackburn of the Press Association.
Stoke confirm booking Craig Pawson awarded to Erik Pieters has been transferred to Bruno Martins Indi due to "mistaken identity"… #scfc pic.twitter.com/SrkQexNnyu
— Liam Blackburn (@liamblackburn) December 20, 2016
This is easily the worst case of mistaken identity in football since mug manufacturers mistook Barack Obama for Mike Chris Smalling.
https://twitter.com/TheFootballRep/status/725747185220882432
