England midfielder Jordan Henderson has been compared to Brazil forward Neymar for his reaction to an altercation with Colombia midfielder Wilmar Barrios in the first-half of England’s round of 16 tie in Moscow.
Henderson and Barrios were jostling for position before an England free-kick when the Liverpool midfielder nudged Barrios with a gentle elbow before the Boca Juniors player retaliatedhis head to bump Henderson in the chin.
The incident was checked by the Video Assistant Referee with match referee Mark Geiger issuing Barrios a yellow card for the incident.
Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville said that the indiscretion was a ‘stonewall red card’ on ITV’s coverage of the match while many former players and pundits criticised Henderson for the dramatic fashion in which he fell to the ground after initial contact had been made.
Wilmar Barrios is booked for what looks like a head-butt on Jordan Henderson, which rules him out of Colombia's next game, but is he lucky it's just a yellow card? #rtesoccer #worldcup #COL #ENG pic.twitter.com/gbPzwjD47z
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) July 3, 2018
Neymar was heavily criticised for the manner in which he reacted to his toe being stubbed by Mexican substitute Miguel Layún in Brazil’s 2-0 win over El Tri on Monday.
Miguel Layun is perhaps a tad fortunate not to get a yellow or worse for this clandestine act on Neymar.#RTEsoccerhttps://t.co/6Qu9d33n2u pic.twitter.com/994X5UBg1L
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) July 2, 2018
Former Wales midfielder Robbie Savage was a notable voice to make the comparison and was quick to highlight how Henderson was not being persecuted for collapsing to the ground in agony in the same manner Neymar has for his gentle tumbles throughout the tournament.
Love it how all those people slating Neymar are now screaming ‘penalty! Red!’ Henderson antics no different to Neymar
— Matt Spiro (@mattspiro) July 3, 2018
Jordan Henderson, what the hell was that reaction? I thought only Neymar carried on like that?#WorldCup
— Dave O'Grady (@DaveOGrady1) July 3, 2018
The player who stood on Neymar should have had a red , the player who used his head on Henderson should have a had a red , Neymar gets absolutely hammered on here by people for over reacting but nothing about Henderson 🤷♂️
— Robbie Savage (@RobbieSavage8) July 3, 2018
England fans when that happens to Neymar/anyone else: "GET UP YOU SOFT T**T"
England fans when that happens to Henderson: "GET HIM OFF THE FIELD, SEND THE DIRTY GET OFF"
— Coral (@Coral) July 3, 2018
Jordan Henderson's been watching Neymar.
— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) July 3, 2018
