You may not like the Liverpool red card, but it was the right call

Refereeing is the most thankless of jobs. In the final seconds at Anfield, with Alisson upfield, Rayan Cherki rolled the ball towards the Liverpool goal. Erling Haaland chased and would have nudged the ball over the line but was pulled back by Dominik Szoboszlai, who then would have caught up to clear had he not been pulled back by Haaland.

The ball crossed the line, yet Craig Pawson, after a VAR review, awarded a free-kick for the first offence and sent Szoboszlai off for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity. Pep Guardiola, oddly placed to oppose a decision that went his way, said he knew Szoboszlai pulled him and that the goal should stand so Szoboszlai could play.

Arne Slot said he could live with the referee following the rulebook, calling Szoboszlai’s shirt-pull a clear foul and the red card correct. Szoboszlai will be suspended for Wednesday’s game away to Sunderland.

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