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Highlights
- Referee John Brooks made a big call by sending off Virgil van Dijk, but Liverpool still won
- He also made another key decision during the win over Newcastle
- Pundits criticized the referee’s call, with Jamie Carragher calling it a poor decision
Referee John Brooks had a busy afternoon at St James’ Park as he sent off Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk but also made another big call on the day which he probably got wrong.
What’s the latest on Liverpool and VAR?
In the Premier League this weekend, Newcastle United played host to the Reds in what turned out to be a fantastic, yet chaotic, spectacle. Indeed, things were going so well for the Magpies, but ended in complete disaster.
Just 25 minutes into the affair, Trent Alexander-Arnold made a big mistake as he failed to control a pass, allowing Anthony Gordon to run through on goal and make it 1-0 to the home team.
Only three minutes later, club captain Van Dijk was handed a straight red card when his foul on Alexander Isak was adjudged to have prevented a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Despite having to play well over an hour with just ten men, Liverpool managed to keep the score at 1-0 right up until the 81st minute when substitute Darwin Nunez struck a fine equaliser.
Incredibly, the same man then netted again in the 93rd minute of the game as the Reds completed an unlikely turnaround to pick up all three points on the day, leaving Eddie Howe and his side stunned.
However, one incident early on in the game suggests that Liverpool were actually fortunate to be down to ten men even before Van Dijk’s red card. Indeed, as you can see in the image below, Alexander-Arnold cynically raised an arm to prevent Gordon from running away from him.
You can see the incident here via Sky Sports as manager Howe vented his anger on the call after the game, saying: “For me, yes [he should have been sent off]. You don’t want to see players sent off but for me, that’s a clear red card.”
Did Trent Alexander-Arnold deserve a red card vs Newcastle?
The referee spotted the clear foul and gave Newcastle a free-kick but seeing as the English right-back had already been booked, it should have resulted in a red card – and yet, for some reason, Brooks kept his card in his pocket – and VAR couldn’t intervene as it wasn’t ever going to be a straight red card.
Alexander-Arnold’s first yellow card, could be viewed as a little harsh as he was punished for throwing the ball away, but new PGMOL rules want referees to stamp down on behaviour like this so it’s no shock that he was booked.
But the second offence was almost certainly a yellow card and it shouldn’t matter about what happened on the first booking. We saw a similar incident in a recent Arsenal game when Takehiro Tomiyasu was sent off for picking up a first card for time-wasting, and then a second for a foul not dissimilar to Alexander-Arnold’s challenge.
Pundit Jamie Carragher slammed referee Brookes for his decision after the game on Sky Sports (via Metro), saying: “Listen, Trent deserves a yellow card. We know the rules, he throws the ball away, but it’s a really poor decision and the referee makes a rod for his own back.”
At the time, Gary Neville added: “He’s lucky. Would Klopp think about substituting him? It’s a cauldron out there. He has sent out Joe Gomez to warm up. I’m not surprised at all. It must be a serious consideration.”