Keith Hackett has claimed that Liverpool forward Sadio Mane’s foul on Takehiro Tomiyasu is not deemed to be a red card decision, despite Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta’s frustrations.
The two managers clashed on the sidelines after seeing the Senegal international’s foul on the Gunners’ right-back, and received a yellow card for his actions.
There has been much talk about the challenge since, but former Premier League referee Hackett insists that it wasn’t a red card challenge.
“The Tomiyasu challenge was what sparked the incident in the technical areas,” Hackett told the FootballInsider.
“Again I thought Michael Oliver got it right. I didn’t see that as a serious foul play challenge. I thought it was reckless.
“Yes, it’s a fine line but for me it was reckless. I think the match officials get it right.
“It’s good to praise a match official when they get it right.”
Tomiyasu made it through the remainder of the game, and the red card wouldn’t have made much difference to the scoreline, so there is little point in arguing the point at this stage, and we can just be thankful that our summer signing escaped unscathed.
I feel as though other referees may have disagreed with Hackett’s point however, especially with him saying there is just a ‘fine line’ between reckless and serious foul play…
Patrick