Juan Mata's reputation saved the Manchester United playmaker from a red card which Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka would have likely received, according to Garth Crooks.
Mata slid in wildly on Vardy 28 minutes into Sunday's clash against Leicester with the scoreline at 0-0, but was shown a yellow card by referee Anthony Taylor despite Claudio Ranieri's players and the crowd appealing for a dismissal.
Mata went on to star for United as he swept home the third goal in a comfortable 3-0 win at the King Power Stadium to pull Jose Mourinho's Red Devils to within two points of fourth-placed Arsenal, who lost 3-1 at Chelsea on Saturday.
Arsene Wenger's midfield options have been limited of late as Granit Xhaka serves a four-game ban for his second straight red card of the season, with the Swiss midfielder dismissed for a two-footed lunge on Burnley's Steven Defour during a 2-1 win for the Gunners.
While Mata sent Vardy flying with a one-footed tackle, former United and Tottenham forward Crooks believes that the Spaniard avoided a worse punishment because referees do not perceive him as a dangerous player - a status Xhaka no longer enjoys.
"Should Juan Mata have been sent off? Probably," he wrote in his BBC Sport column.
"The fact that he wasn't had more to do with it being Mata rather than Granit Xhaka of Arsenal, for example, who was sent off recently for a very similar tackle.
"To say reputations don't matter is rubbish. Of course they matter.
"The Spain international is a dreadful tackler and has no business ever going to ground.
In Pictures | Chelsea vs Arsenal | 04/02/2017
"However, the difference between Mata and Xhaka was that no-one was hurt.
"Had Mata inflicted damage then that would have provided a different dynamic for the referee.
"The result was that United's midfield maestro along with his accomplice [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan continued to take Leicester apart."
Premier League table
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Chelsea | 24 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 34 | 59 |
| 2 | Tottenham | 24 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 30 | 50 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 24 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 49 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 24 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 24 | 47 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 24 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 22 | 46 |
| 6 | Man United | 24 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 45 |
| 7 | Everton | 24 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 40 |
| 8 | West Brom | 24 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 36 |
| 9 | West Ham | 24 | 9 | 4 | 11 | -9 | 31 |
| 10 | Watford | 24 | 8 | 6 | 10 | -11 | 30 |
| 11 | Stoke City | 24 | 7 | 8 | 9 | -7 | 29 |
| 12 | Burnley | 24 | 9 | 2 | 13 | -9 | 29 |
| 13 | Southampton | 24 | 7 | 6 | 11 | -7 | 27 |
| 14 | Bournemouth | 24 | 7 | 5 | 12 | -12 | 26 |
| 15 | Middlesbrough | 24 | 4 | 9 | 11 | -8 | 21 |
| 16 | Leicester City | 24 | 5 | 6 | 13 | -17 | 21 |
| 17 | Swansea City | 24 | 6 | 3 | 15 | -25 | 21 |
| 18 | Hull City | 24 | 5 | 5 | 14 | -25 | 20 |
| 19 | Crystal Palace | 24 | 5 | 5 | 15 | -13 | 19 |
| 20 | Sunderland | 24 | 5 | 4 | 15 | -18 | 19 |
