Not all contact is a foul. What you're describing here is contact that should not be penalised at all.
And the appeal? Given the above, what you're essentially doing is advocating for bookings for any appeal - a very slippery slope!
I'm not advocating at all. I'm asking a question as I'm struggling to understand in the context of the penalty award how it is possible to justify a caution for simulation.
I get that it's a contentious penalty and it's divided opinion as to whether it should or shouldn't be awarded, and I respect those that have a different view on it to me (that's the joy of football).
But to put it into context - the example I used above - Sterling is running in a straight-line, pushes the ball past the defender and then runs into him as the defender has stood his ground. He's clearly either expecting the defender to move, or is trying to 'win' a penalty.
Contrast that with the penalty award - Sterling is running at speed inside the box and is changing direction, it's in the 103rd minute of a high energy game, he's in a very tight space and has one defender each side of him and one in front. When he goes down and it's more of a sprawl that is indicative of a fall as opposed to a dive and there is contact on him.
For me:
1) No way I can countenance a caution for simulation here, based on the sequence of events I've described.
2) I stick by the fact that the defender has to be smarter, by placing his leg across Sterling to attempt to challenge, he's opened Pandoras box. For some the level of contact is insufficient to warrant the award of a foul, for others (including the referee on the day) it does. What annoys me is that there is always blame for the attacker or the referee in these circumstances, never once a question about what the defender has done, if the defender doesn't put his leg across Sterling, then there is no contact and no penalty.
3) This is one of the many incidents we've seen at this tournament, where VAR is not getting involved in 're-refereeing' games. VAR has been criticized heavily for doing this, especially on these marginal decisions. This was one of those decisions that 'In the Opinion Of The Referee' was a penalty, but had it been another referee he could have equally decided it wasn't.