Ex-PGMOL chief says Richarlison could have been sent off for what he did against Liverpool
Keith Hackett believes Tottenham Hotspur goalscorer Richarlison could have been shown a red card after he halved his team's deficit against Liverpool on Saturday
Richarlison was fortunate not to be the third Tottenham Hotspur player sent off in Saturday's incident-packed clash with Liverpool. That's according to a former PGMOL chief.
Ex-Everton hero Richarlison halved the Tottenham deficit in the 83rd minute when he fired home from close range.
That set up a frantic finish in which Spurs, who were down to 10 men after a first-half red card for Xavi Simons and who would later see Cristian Romero given his marching orders, laid siege to the Liverpool goal.
But the Reds managed to hold on with strikes from Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike earlier in the half ultimately ensuring a third straight win in all competitions. However, Richarlison should not have been on the pitch to lead the late charge.
That's the view of one time PGMOL boss Keith Hackett, who says the Brazilian could have joined Simons in the dressing room for what he did immediately after scoring his fifth Premier League goal against Liverpool.
The 28-year-old ran to get the ball out of the net but fell on top of Ekitike, who had slipped trying to kick the ball away.
Richarlison then put his hand on the back of the Reds forward's neck before rushing out of the box, where he was confronted by Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong. Szoboszlai was subsequently shown a yellow card, meaning he will miss this weekend's home clash with Wolves.
But Hackett says Richarlison could have seen red. "There is no doubt that Richarlison is a competitive individual and certainly one that a referee needs to keep his eye on," he told Football Insider.
"In this particular situation, we see Richarlison with his hand on the neck of his opponent as he is getting up off the ground. There's a little pressure.
"Could easily have been a red card but was completely missed by officials, ignored by VAR and as a result, nothing happens.
"It could have been a red card mister Richarlison. Behave yourself."
Simons was dismissed on 33 minutes for a foul on Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk after referee John Brooks was invited by VAR to consult his pitchside monitor after initially awarding a yellow card.
Romero, who had earlier been booked, was dismissed for a second yellow during additional time after a tangle on the floor with Ibrahima Konate after being fouled by Van Dijk's centre-back partner.
Reds head coach Arne Slot also felt Romero's centre-partner Micky van de Ven could have been sent off for his challenge on Isak when opening the scoring.
The challenge led to the £125m striker sustaining a serious leg injury that will rule him out for at least two months.
Slot said: "Yeah, (Isak's injury) was a reckless challenge.
"I've said a lot about the tackle of Xavi Simons, which for me was completely unintentional. I don't think you will ever get an injury out of a tackle like that.
"But the tackle of Van de Ven, if you make a tackle like that 10 times, 10 times there is a serious chance the player gets a serious injury."
Tottenham boss Thomas Frank said: "I am obviously disagreeing (with Slot) in many ways. We are talking about a defender that will do everything he can to avoid the goal.
"It is a transition, there is a ball down the side and he is doing everything he can to block the shot so he is sliding. Unfortunately Isak plants his foot so it makes it look worse than it is, but that is a natural action for a defender.
"Put it this way, if my defender does not do that, they are not true defenders!
"Reckless challenge? I don’t think you see anything like that from Micky. He is very fair and I know the two players have sorted it out, so that’s a good sign."