Why Ryan Fraser was not saved by the double jeopardy rule in Southampton 2-3 Leicester City

Yesterday at 01:25 PM

Ryan Fraser helped Leicester City fight back against Southampton on Saturday after picking up a straight red card in the 73rd minute.

The Scotland international was dismissed by Anthony Taylor after tugging on the shirt of Jamie Vardy – preventing the Leicester City No.9 from potentially tapping into an empty net – with the Englishman then smashing the resulting penalty beyond Aaron Ramsdale.

However, some fans have been wondering why the double jeopardy rule did not lead Anthony Taylor to only show Southampton No.24 Ryan Fraser a yellow card.

Why Anthony Taylor sent Ryan Fraser off

Firstly, let us share what the double jeopardy rule actually is.

The rulebook states: “Where a player commits an offence against an opponent within their own penalty area, which denies an opponent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and the referee awards a penalty kick, the offender is cautioned if the offence was an attempt to play the ball; in all other circumstances (e.g. holding, pulling, pushing, no possibility to play the ball etc.) the offending player must be sent off.”

In some cases, we have witnessed players remain on the pitch with just a yellow card as punishment, for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity with a foul that gives away a penalty, when such an act would previously have always been a straight red card and a penalty.

As you can probably decipher from the official rule above, Fraser was not given the benefit of this rule because his offence was a pull of the shirt, not an innocent attempt to play the ball.

It was a decision that eventually cost Southampton more than just two points, as a 98th minute strike from Jordan Ayew ensured the Foxes took all three back to the Midlands rather than one.

Southampton 2-3 Leicester City could spell the end for Russell Martin

TBR Football had been told that Southampton were considering sacking Russell Martin during the international break, after a winless start to the 2024/25 campaign.

Ultimately, those in the boardroom at St Mary’s decided to let the 38-year-old remain in control for the visit of Leicester City, which seemed like a wise move after Southampton raced into a 2-0 lead.

However, the manner of which Southampton threw away three precious points, against a side who many expect to be a relegation rival for the Saints, was particularly worrying, and was the type of collapse that often sees a manager lose his job.

With a trip to Manchester City next up on Saturday, we doubt Southampton will be able to earn back those squandered three points immediately.