Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has criticized the referee’s decision to avoid sending Tottenham winner Lucas Bergval off for a foul on Kostas Tsimikas in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.
Bergval scored the only goal as Liverpool lost to Spurs and advanced to the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals. The 18-year-old was originally booked by referee Stuart Attwell in the 68th minute for a late foul on Luis Diaz.
Just before scoring, Bergvall made a late lunge at Tsimikas to put the play away and the Liverpool left-back was removed from the pitch. This means that the away team is temporarily reduced to 10 players. With Tsimikas watching from the sidelines, Spurs hit back with Bergval finishing off a move to take a narrow lead in the return leg at Anfield on Thursday, February 6.
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Highlights from Tottenham’s first-leg win over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-finals
Facing the referees at full-time after the game, Van Dijk was adamant that Bergvall should have received a second yellow card.
“I think it’s clear it’s going to be a second yellow,” Van Dijk said. sky sports.
“Obviously, I think it’s pretty clear (from what I told the referee), it wasn’t a coincidence that he scored the winner a minute later.”
“He (Attwell) made a mistake in my opinion and I told him so. I think it was very obvious and everyone around knew it had to be yellow.”
“There’s the linesman there, there’s the fourth official, there’s VAR, there’s the referee and he doesn’t get a second yellow card. I can’t say that’s why we lost today, but it was an important moment in the game.”
Liverpool manager Arne Slott shared his captain’s frustration over the winning goal.
“The decisions he (Attwell) made had a huge impact on the result tonight.” Slot said. sky sports. “I think
Everyone will say this.
“It’s not just ideal for us to give (that goal) away and have a player score who should have even received a second yellow card. I don’t know, but maybe the referee is like, ‘Is this really happening?’
What is your goal now?’
“The fourth referee said why he thought it was not a second yellow card, and of course he probably heard it from the referee. If you block a counter-attack with a reckless challenge, he can still give you a yellow card, but he didn’t. It doesn’t look that way.
“It’s a reckless challenge.”
Tottenham’s controversial goal: Why did Liverpool want Bergvall sent off?
Lucas Bergval scored a controversial winner after avoiding a red card in Tottenham’s 1-0 Carabao Cup semi-final first leg win over Liverpool.
68: Lucas Bergvall received a yellow card for a sliding tackle on Liverpool’s Luis Diaz.
84: Bergvall slips to Kostas Tsimikas. Referee Stuart Attwell makes the play and Darwin Nunez fires on target. The match was then stopped so Tsimikas could receive treatment, but there was no punishment for Bergvall despite protests from Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk.
86: Two minutes and five seconds after Bergval’s tackle, he While it was a breakthrough for Tottenham, Tsimikas is waiting on the sideline to return to the field after receiving treatment. The Liverpool coach was booked by referee Attwell for complaining about the situation. Spurs’ goal came directly from an uncontested dropped ball.
‘It doesn’t make sense’: Here’s what experts say…
Michael Dawson on Sky Sports Football:
“When Stuart Atwell gets the first goal, it puts him in his position. I don’t think the first goal is a yellow card. It gives him an opportunity and a chance to make a decision.
“The second should have been a yellow card. You can’t even get one right and one wrong.”
Izzy Christiansen on Sky Sports Football:
“The second one is worse than the first. It doesn’t make sense.”
Jamie Redknapp on Sky Sports Football:
“This has a huge impact on the rest of the game. He has to leave for treatment and Liverpool will be left with 10 men. So not only will Bergvall still be on the pitch, Liverpool will have to play with 10 men.
“But Tottenham certainly play an important role.”
Ange urges people to protest how football is changing. ‘Was that announcement a hot topic for you?’
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Dominic Solanke’s goal was ruled out after scrutiny by VAR, with referee Stuart Attwell announcing the decision to the crowd.
Attwell had previously used the public address system in a historic moment for English football to announce that Spurs striker Dominic Solanke’s goal in the 76th minute had been ruled out for offside.
Attwell relayed his decision via wireless microphone to the crowd inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the TV audience following a VAR review that lasted around two minutes.
However, Postecoglou was not satisfied with this and urged the football world to resist technology-driven changes to the game.
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Ange Postecoglou made her feelings clear after the referee at the Carabao VAR trial announced the decision that Solanke’s goal had been ruled out for the crowd.
“I’m really amazed at how easily people in this country embrace changes in the game,” he said. “More has changed since VAR was introduced than in the last 50 years. We have never discussed so many things.
“Did you really like today’s announcement? Did it really create a buzz?
“What I understand is this is what people want. I understand there will be VAR, there will be technology, but my wife, who has kids, limits screen time. Why do we want to change the game so much?
“I know I will be the old man in the stands shouting boos at VAR every time.
“There’s a lot of confusion right now. Games are changing based on technology, so why isn’t anyone talking about it? You think the custodians of the games have a song called ‘It’s Coming Home.’ But the most conservative about change is “I’m an Australian from the other side of the world.”
VAR Announcement – Slot: Offside No explanation needed.
“With the VAR decision he had to tell everyone what his decision was, but unfortunately with the (second yellow card Bergvall) decision he didn’t have to do that.
“I don’t think anyone needs to explain if it was offside. It would have been more interesting if they had explained why they didn’t give a second yellow card!”
First VAR Announcement – How to Report
Sky Sports’ Peter Smith at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:
“For the first time we heard referee Stuart Attwell make a VAR announcement over the public address system.
“But the news of the offside call was drowned out by boos from disgruntled Tottenham fans and cheers from Liverpool fans!
“Lesson for the future: a referee blowing his whistle loudly into a live microphone amplified around the stadium is not a pleasant sound for the listener!!”
