Elsewhere in Europe, 2019-2020

I watched a good chunk of that one too, and I concur with your opinions on both. I was stunned when the technical area spike incident wasn't a red. I will say this: the offender wasn't super malicious with his transgression, more like a normal attempt to retrieve the ball than a stomp, but it WAS clearly intentional, flagrant and well out of bounds. But...his victim also clearly embellished the force of the spiking. I love it when a player recoils the offended appendage, much like a four legged mammal, then hops, drawing their knees or elbows in like a prima donna at The Globe, then falling like a big sack of potatoes slightly in the direction of the loss of balance their histrionics have caused. Then, having deposited themselves upon the pitch, they either a) start clutching said appendage as if a physician is about to amputate it, or b) start pounding the turf with one hand, usually multiple times in rapid succession, perhaps hoping to goad the medical attendants into breaking out an air cast or some other daunting emergency trinkets in anticipation of the direst of injuries, or c) play possum until the physios arrive and appear to comfort them enough so that it seems safe to move...JUST a little. If a player continues the match after some, or all of this "behavior," THEY should be sent off as well. I know there ain't no timeouts in this game, but faking or malingering in order to buy rest or time to regroup, change the momentum of the match, switch tactics, etc., should be judged more strictly than it is. It's gotten a little better in Europe, but it's still there, as it is in almost every other federation on the planet. Time to weed out the bad actors (and the good ones) and take such silliness out of the game.