From the camera view available, I didn’t think it was outrageous but it wasn’t the best view of it.
I can certainly see your point of view but as someone who used to stand in that corner of GP, I spent many seasons watching Andy Butler who was a master at winning free kicks in exactly the same way – getting between the ball & the attacker and just stopping for half a second. The attacker would bundle him over & he would get a defensive free kick. No one ever debated those.
Rightly or wrongly, the interpretation of the laws is pretty tough on defenders at the moment with strict liability, so I think the ref had to give it. Personally, I’d like to see that change because a penalty is too big a reward for a minor foul, even if it’s in the box. And giving so many penalties will only encourage more diving & make life much harder for referees.
