Strange referring decision

Should a player receive a straight red for kicking another player?

In a recent game a player of mine was kicked by an opposition player and the opposition player got only a yellow card which I thought was strange. I've seen this happen with two footed tackles too, sometimes a red and sometimes a yellow.

Kicking someone is only a foul if it is done in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force. For example, one can be trying to tackle the ball but accidentally kicked someone. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a foul.

It's a red card if it is serious foul play, violent conduct, or deny obvious goal scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal by an punishable offence. It's only a yellow card if it were merely unsporting behaviour, or persistent infringement.

Refs have personalities, some are lenient, some are strict.

I take notice of the ref when setting my tactics and adjust the aggression of the team accordingly.