Tottenham beat Liverpool 1-0 in the first leg of the League Cup semi-finals last night. However, in the second half of the game, controversy arose that Lucas Bergval could have been sent off. Moments later, he went on to score the only goal of the game to give Tottenham a goal advantage going into the second leg at Anfield.
Keith Hackett, former FIFA referee and Honorary Patron of the Far Post Header, said of the incident:
Liverpool have a right to be angry. Lucas Bergvall should have been sent off. Furthermore, the Liverpool captain criticized officials for making an ‘obvious’ mistake in failing to send off the Tottenham Hotspur goalscorer.
Once again, we are talking about the quality and inconsistency of officiating at the highest level of the British game, on a night when professional match officials were supposed to go the extra mile to better communicate with fans.
After handing out a rather harsh yellow card to Tottenham Hotspur youngster Lucas Bergval in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday night, he immediately deserved a second yellow card for a reckless challenge. The fact that Tottenham still had 11 players on the pitch was difficult for Liverpool to accept, but add to the fact that the player who should have been sent off was the one who scored.
It was clearly a reckless challenge and one that referee Stuart Attwell was clearly aware of. If you need help, you should ask the assistant referee close to the scene of the incident where the flag was raised. To make matters worse for Liverpool, Attwell’s decision to take the advantage without conceding a foul meant that the player on the receiving end of Bergvall’s tackle, Konstantinos Tsimikas, had to leave the pitch.
The rules state that any player who needs medical attention that is not due to a foul must leave the field and wait for the referee to wave his hand again. Tsimikas did so but did not wave back onto the field during Tottenham’s attack and Dominic Solanke’s score, which led to a goal assist, came into an area of ​​the pitch that Tsimikas was expected to defend. That’s a doubly bitter pill to swallow, and Liverpool have every right to be disgruntled.
That wasn’t the only story in North London on Wednesday night. Early in the match, we heard the referee announce a VAR decision over the stadium’s public address system for the first time in English football history. Attwell delivered an offside decision that ruled out Solanke’s goal, and although it didn’t make much of a difference to TV viewers, it was a small step towards improving the system watching in person.
In order to provide better information to fans inside the stadium, PGMOL has designated the Carabao Cup semi-final as the first test of domestic competition, preparing an announcement after VAR decisions have been made. Honestly, when we watch at home, we see the process and the result. But what I do think is that big screens should be used in stadiums and conversations between referees and VAR should be broadcast live to ensure full transparency about what is decided and how it is decided.
Additionally, I ask when we will introduce a semi-automated offside system, which will help our referees as offside decisions take too long. It was scheduled to be introduced last year, but is not yet ready for deployment.
keith hackett
Former FIFA Referee Member Former PGMOL Sergeant
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