The Achilles heel rule: in more detail
Luka Modric and Jorge Molina saw red for a stamp from behind. They were the first victims of the change put in place this season by referees, as a way to protect footballers.
CTA explained it this way to the members, making it clear which acts deserve a red and which do not:
"In this group of actions, we should differentiate:
a) RECKLESSNESS: No disciplinary penalty for them
b) TEMERITY: Actions that carry a warning.
c) USE OF EXCESSIVE FORCE: Actions deserving of a red card
Numerous matches from last season were reviewed, as in the other sections, and special emphasis was placed on entries made behind or over areas of high risk of injury (Achilles tendon, twin, tibia, ...) as it clearly endangers the physical integrity of the player who receives them.
Referees should protect the physical integrity of the players and punish these type of actions with a corresponding red card. In the same way, it insisists that in the case of the refererr on the pitch not identifying these actions, VAR should intervene to help the referee make his decision, by reviewing the action on the monitor.
Actions where a player 'steps' on the foot of another player on the ball are considered to be less of a risk. In this case, they should consider whether the actions are reckless and that the warning is the correct disciplinary decision.
However, this does not always get rid of the controversy. In Betis-Valladolid there was a similar situation, which ended with Míchel stepping on Loren's Achilles tendon, and on this occasion VAR, whose position was Mateu Lahoz, did not intervene to correct the referee, Santiago Jaime Latre.
Neither was another stomping by Januzaj on Gabriel Paulista sanctioned in the Valencia-Real Sociedad game. Apparently, in these two cases the people in charge of VAR (the aforementioned Mateu and Prieto Iglesias in Mestalla) considered that neither Míchel nor Januzaj were making an entry on their rivals. Or maybe yes they were, and it was Jaime Latre and Gil Manzano who dismissed the possibility of going to a review.
19 August 2019
This is the only possible explanation, without creating any conspiracy theories. For the VAR team, they were not reckless or used excessive force. Míchel went to press Loren from behind with the bad fortune of stepping on him (which is difficult to justify watching the action). Januzaj, on the other hand, ran without realizing that Gabriel crossed ahead.
In football things are not always black and white, they are full of complications and although CTA have worked to simplify the referee's decisions, as we can see, work still needs to be done.