Liverpool charged by FA over incident in defeat to Man City

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Jordan Henderson, Simon Hooper, Liverpool
English referee Simon Hooper speaks with Manchester City's Swiss defender Manuel Akanji (C), Liverpool's English midfielder Jordan Henderson (2L) and Manchester City's English midfielder Jack Grealish (2R) during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on April 1, 2023. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Liverpool have been charged by the FA over the manner in which several Reds players surrounded referee Simon Hooper during last weekend’s 4-1 defeat at Manchester City.

Some members of Jurgen Klopp’s side were unhappy with the official for not showing Rodri a second yellow card for a cynical foul on Cody Gakpo, just a minute after the Spanish midfielder was booked for fouling Diogo Jota.

A statement from an FA spokesperson read: “Liverpool FC has been charged after its players surrounded a match official during the 34th minute of their Premier League game against Manchester City FC on Saturday 1 April.

“It’s alleged that Liverpool FC failed to ensure its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and/or do not behave in a way which is improper, and the club has until Wednesday 12 April to respond.”

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Admittedly we don’t want to see a multitude of players from any team surrounding referees (and certainly not those plying their trade for Liverpool) demanding for opponents to be sent off.

At the same time, though, it’s not hard to understand why so many Reds players were incensed over Rodri’s foul on Gakpo.

The Man City midfielder knew exactly what he was doing by pulling back the Dutch forward and it was a foul which merited a booking, irrespective of whether or not he was booked already and how long it had been since his first yellow card.

Also, it wasn’t as if the home side were perfectly innocent on Saturday, either. Just look at how Pep Guardiola celebrated provocatively in front of Kostas Tsimikas and Arthur Melo after Julian Alvarez’s equaliser.

On another note, if the FA are going to be so quick in charging Liverpool over the conduct of their players, perhaps the relevant authorities should clamp down just as hastily on the behaviour of certain factions within some club’s supporters over offensive chanting.

Both Manchester City and Chelsea quickly published statements in the wake of their respective matches against the Reds over the past week in which those two clubs condemned a variety of chants deemed ‘inappropriate’.

We’d like to use our own description for those who attend football matches and insist on indulging in chanting ‘murderers’ and ‘always the victims’ – disgusting, vile and reprehensible in the extreme.

If Liverpool are to face punishment over the actions of some players in surrounding Hooper last weekend to dispute a decision (or indecision, in this case), then clubs should be hit with appropriate sanctions over chanting which is intended to cause hurt to the families of football-related tragedies.

You can view the FA’s statement in full below (via @FAspokesperson on Twitter):

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