Absolutely this. The people who are advocating, probably rightly, that if earlier incidents like his two earlier bookings and the penalty decision in this game would left out of the equation a yellow and a stern telling off would have sufficed need to ask themselves would they have left him on the pitch after that or taken him off as a precaution? This happened in the 16th minute and surely any leeway would have been gone so he would have had to play in a very controlled manner for the remaining 74 minutes + ET, and I don't think he has that in him. As much as it's valid to suggest the sport has gone soft and the referee could have been a bit more lenient, there is also undeniably a problem with the player himself, who just looks like an accident waiting to happen at this stage. Also, his card will not only be marked with referees, but also opposition players and managers who will try to use his reputation against him from now on. A lot of work is to be done to keep that bit of aggression that makes him a nuisance as a part of his game without it spilling over quite so frequently.