ESPN can reveal that the Premier League’s independent Critical Match Incidents Committee has ruled that Diogo Jota should not have been sent off during Liverpool’s controversial 2-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday. Seven.
Jota was shown a red card for two fouls in just over a minute, both against Spurs defender Destiny Udogie.
ESPN saw the panel’s assessments in week seven, making it clear that the second tackle on Udogie in the 69th minute did not merit a yellow card from referee Simon Hooper.
The report said “the majority considered the decision to be incorrect as it fell short of the threshold for a yellow card”, with all five members voting 3-2 against a yellow card.
The panel is made up of five members, including three former players and/or coaches, along with one representative from the Premier League and PGMOL. At the time, few observers questioned the authenticity of Jota’s second warning, which left the Reds with nine men for the remainder of the match. That was the first warning, when Udogie’s back leg clipped the Portuguese striker’s knee, which seemed to merit a further reassessment. However, the committee does not make a decision on the first yellow card if a player is sent off for two cautions.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was furious with the two red cards, as well as the goal Luis Díaz saw ruled out for offside.
Curtis Jones was sent off via video review in the 24th minute for a foul on Yves Bissouma, but the panel upheld VAR Darren England’s intervention. Klopp confirmed that Liverpool had lost their appeal to the Football Association to overturn Jones’ three-match ban, although he could not object to Jota’s one-match ban because of two warnings. On Wednesday, Klopp told a press conference that he believed the match should be replayed after refereeing body PGMOL admitted “standards did not meet expectations” regarding the Diaz incident, goals The win was disallowed due to a VAR error with the score. . The score was 0-0 in the 34th minute.
According to the panel, it was the worst weekend for referees this season, with four missed VAR interventions, more than the rest of the season combined.
Aston Villa’s second and third goals in their 6-1 home win over Brighton & Hove Albion should have been ruled out, according to the ruling. Villa led 1-0 when Nicolò Zaniolo was in the sights of Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele from Ollie Watkins’ shot, with the score 3-2 in favor of no goals allowed.
Minutes later, Brighton’s Solly March was brought down by Douglas Luiz before Pervis Estupiñán’s own goal. However, while the panel ruled that it was a foul by Luiz, voting 4-1 for VAR intervention, there was no reference to the involvement of the attacking phase , which could be a key consideration for VAR’s upset, Stuart Attwell.
It was also said that Villa defender Ezri Konsa should have received a second yellow card in the 71st minute, when the score was 4-1. Brighton midfielder Ansu Fati was booked after a challenge with Konsa, who was booked in the 57th minute, and the panel felt both players should have been booked.
The panel also unanimously ruled that Brentford were clearly denied a penalty at Nottingham Forest when goalkeeper Matt Turner kicked Brentford striker Yoane Wissa. The match ended with a score of 1-1. All other significant incidents in the match played between Saturday and Tuesday were deemed correct by the panel.
