Of course he shouldn't leave his foot in there, but why fake injury and throw himself to the ground like that? And why on earth did he need a strecher when leaving the pitch? I still think it's a red card by the way, but Alves is a twat for acting like he'd been shot too.
Technically it's a red card and anyone who's saying there wasn't any contact, so it isn't a red is missing the point and should play something more than computer football. On the pitch players get sent off often for dangerous challenges while making minimal or no contact at all, it's the type, and especially angle of the challenge that's taken into account rather than contact. I found it weird that whether the player made contact was made an issue at all in the thread but I didn't want to post in the sense that these kinds of things are educational, it sorts out the fellas who know their stuff and those who don't.
Alves milked it for all it's worth, but I think there's an element of pragmatism to it. Now technically that challenge deserved a red, but sometimes I've seen them just give yellows (I think Pienaar on Masch was similar last season).
Did Alves doing what he did helped improve the chances of a red? Maybe it did, maybe it didn't, but doing it wouldn't have cost Alves in terms of getting booked for playacting as the challenge from Pepe was a clear foul. So he did it.
Like many, I think it's a pathetic thing to do, but it's the mentality these days. Gone are the days when exhibiting weakness / getting told by your coaches that even if you're hit, don't exhibit weaknesss as your opponents will target you. Swung over too far to the other side now.