One refereeing decision from Liverpool’s 2-1 victory at Brentford on Saturday has divided opinion among former referees and ex-players in the Sky Sports studio.
The Bees finished the match with nine men after red cards for Yehor Yarmolyuk and Vitaly Janelt, the former for a petulant headbutt on Jeremy Jacquet and the latter for a second yellow card in the final moments of the game when he fouled Rio Ngumoha.
A busy day for the officials also saw a penalty for the Reds overturned when Alexis Mac Allister was (correctly) deemed not to have been fouled by Dango Ouattara, and a legitimate shout for a spot kick ignored when Yarmolyuk barged Florian Wirtz inside the box.
Brentford red card prompts some disagreement
There was plenty from the Gtech Community Stadium for Dermot Gallagher and Jay Bothroyd to sift through on Sky Sports News‘ Ref Watch on Monday morning, and the pair had differing views on Janelt’s late red card for Brentford.
The ex-Premier League referee said: “He’s grabbed at [Ngumoha’s] shirt. It’s very unwise to do that. He knows he’s on a yellow card. He’s asked the referee to make a decision. If you give them a decision to make, don’t be upset if he makes the one you don’t want.
“We talked about consistency last week… and in this case, more are going to get yellow cards than not.”
However, Bothroyd argued: “It’s one of these challenges where he’s trying to get back and he’s clipped his heels and made contact.
“Is it a second yellow? I’m not sure. There’s a defender there as well, it’s not like he [Ngumoha] is through on goal. I’m not entirely sure he’s done it on purpose. If he has then yes, yellow card, but I don’t think he has done.”
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Was Brooks right to show Janelt a second yellow card?
Although Ngumoha was just outside the penalty area when he was felled by Janelt, the presence of Aaron Hickey in the centre means we can rule out any discussion over denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity, with the Liverpool winger having been forced slightly away from goal at the point of contact too.
However, with Brentford’s number 27 already on a yellow card and clumsily crashing into the Reds forward, he could have little cause for complaint at being booked for a second time for a careless if not malicious foul.
Another official might’ve been inclined to let it slide, given that the contact wasn’t extreme, but there was enough to justify Brooks reaching for his pocket.
There were plenty of big calls for the officials to make on Saturday, but in our opinion, the only one they got wrong was not to award a penalty for Yarmolyuk’s shove on Wirtz a few minutes before half-time.
While Janelt might claim that he was slightly hard done by, his Ukrainian teammate could have no such excuses for his moment of madness in headbutting Jacquet.
With three red cards being brandished in their last two Premier League games, hopefully the officials won’t be at the epicentre of post-match conversation from Liverpool’s next top-flight fixture at home to Brighton on Sunday.