Premier League giants Liverpool have appealed the red card given to Alexis Mac Allister during Saturday’s win over Bournemouth.
Mac Allister was shown a straight red card for a mistimed but not reckless tackle on Bournemouth player Ryan Christie in the 58th minute of the match and would be set to miss three games if it was upheld.
Paul Tierney was on VAR and did not instruct referee Thomas Bramall to review the video monitor, despite the fact that Jurgen Klopp accused him of being “biassed” last season.
Liverpool boss, Jurgen Klopp, who was disappointed at the officiating, said on Saturday, “I saw the red card back, and for sure we have to talk about it,” said the Reds boss, whose team won after goals from Luis Diaz, Mo Salah, and Diogo Jota.
“I understand 100 percent how it looks for a referee in that moment, but when you see it back, it is the inside of the foot and there is no power behind it. It is not reckless; it is just that he mishit the ball and then slightly hit the shin of the other player.
“We saw harsher challenges that weren’t red cards, and this shouldn’t have been. I don’t know exactly what we have to do, but we should talk about it again,” he added.
According to FA guidelines, all straight red cards, with the exception of those for abusive language or gestures, can be appealed. However, for their appeal to hold water, Liverpool must prove that the referee made an obvious error in sending the player off.
One concern for Liverpool is that if the FA were to overturn the decision, it could potentially undermine the refereeing team.
“Besides contact, if we had a list of points on which we needed to give a red card, no other box would be ticked,” added Klopp.
“It’s a mistake, and the punishment of playing 40 minutes with 10 men is already punishment enough. We have to talk to the authorities.
“If he gives a yellow card, nobody would say, “By the way, you need to have another look at that”. The number of times I’ve already been asked about it shows it is worth discussing again, which we will probably do,” he concluded.
In the same vein, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola admitted it was the wrong decision to send off Mac Allister. He said, “I don’t know. In real life, it did not look like a red card. It was more an orange card!”
