Liverpool ran out 2-0 winners at Anfield in their Premier League meeting with Everton. But some say the Reds were lucky not to have Ibrahima Konate sent off when it was 0-0.
Former Premier League referee Mike Dean was surprised to see Ibrahima Konate avoid a red card during Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday afternoon.
Konate was booked at the start of the second half after preventing a counter-attack by dragging Amadou Onana to the ground and could well have been dismissed 15 minutes after this incident. The French defender, committing a similar offence on Beto, was not brandished a second yellow card despite the protests of Everton players on the pitch and the Blues’ coaching staff on the sidelines.
Recognising Liverpool were rather fortunate not to have gone down to ten men, Jurgen Klopp replaced Konate just two minutes after the incident as Joel Matip was introduced. At that stage Everton were down to 10 men after Ashley Young was sent off for two yellow cards in the first half.
Of the view referee Craig Pawson should have dismissed the France international, Dean said on Sky Sports’ live coverage of the derby: “I think it is a second yellow, I do. Consistency-wise, you send off a player for two fouls in the first half. “He has done two in the space of 10 minutes. I guarantee you he will get substituted.”
Blues boss Sean Dychecould also not believe this call, telling reporters after the game: “I’ve asked the referee, he said he didn’t feel it was a bookable offence and he felt that straight away. I don’t know what is then.
“I’d like to think there’s a lot of fair-minded people in football, and I think people who were here today would be stunned that that wasn’t a second yellow. Their manager, fair play to him, he took him off as quick as he could! He’s realised, he saw, ‘I got away with one there’ – I imagine he thought that, I don’t know. He couldn’t wait to get him off. He knows and we know.”
