Reds supporters are no big fans of referee Martin Atkinson at the moment after he came under fire for his performance in the clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford a couple of weeks back.
Atkinson then followed that up with a few controversial decisions as the VAR on Saturday as the Reds beat Aston Villa, with Roberto Firmino’s goal ruled out for his armpit being offside, while he also missed a blatant handball from Bjorn Engels, among many other things.
Atkinson also changed his mind about Heung-min Son yesterday after the horrific injury to Everton’s Andre Gomes. He initially had a yellow card in his hand, which would have been correct despite the injury, before being influenced by the reaction and upgrading it to a red.
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Steven Gerrard’s words on Atkinson in his autobiography, then, are all the more relevant now.
Via the Guardian, Gerrard wrote in his book that when Atkinson sent him off for stamping on Ander Herrera in 2015, he ‘didn’t like the look on his face’ as he strolled towards him.
More generally, he added bluntly: “I couldn’t stand him.”
It becomes very clear when reading the book that the pair never saw eye to eye. Gerrard is certainly not the only Reds fan to dislike Atkinson, with most praying that he is nowhere near the huge clash with Manchester City to come next weekend.