The Rational Ref | Referee Cuneyt Cakir's red card on Nani justified under match rules

Silence is golden. For once, Alex Ferguson was apparently so distraught, disgusted and dumbfounded he was unable to speak publicly to the world's media.

Manchester United were eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions League and the knives were out for Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir after his match-changing decision to send off Nani in the 56th minute.

For simply doing his job, 36-year-old Cakir has received much venom and vitriol, including death threats. Cruel condemnation and cutting criticism in castigating Cakir for being a Turk, a non-professional referee, and an insurance agent with implications he is a scoundrel salesman are all clearly ad hominem attacks.

Many within the soccer community, particularly United fans, seem to take things personally, as if something genuinely tragic has occurred. All that happened is one team lost and the other won. Life goes on, we pick ourselves up and we get on with our lives.

Why should anyone care that Cakir heralds from Istanbul, is a part-time match official and has a full-time job in insurance? These personal statements - which are all true - have no bearing on his integrity and performance as an elite-category Fifa referee. If people want to question his decision, they should do so constructively and rationally. Here's how Rational Ref sees it.

Cakir sent off Nani for serious foul play, which means a player is dismissed for using "excessive force or brutality against an opponent when challenging for the ball when it is in play". The laws further state: "A tackle that endangers the safety of an opponent must be sanctioned as serious foul play."

Following these laws to the letter, it is easy for everyone to understand why Cakir was not wrong to send off Nani. Cakir's view is Nani endangered the safety of his opponent.