Liverpool fans will likely feel furious tonight after watching Andreas Pereira’s lucky escape during Fulham’s 2-2 draw at Anfield, especially after he opened the scoring shortly after a controversial challenge.
Pereira was booked early in the match for a reckless tackle on Ryan Gravenberch, a challenge that raked down the back of the Liverpool midfielder’s Achilles.
Replays suggested a red card would have been the right call. Just two minutes later, Pereira capitalized on sloppy defending and found the net.
While the Premier League Match Centre on X explained the decisions regarding Issa Diop’s non-red card for his early foul on Andy Robertson and Robertson’s subsequent red card, they did not address the Pereira incident.
The Liverpool Echo reached out to the Premier League for clarification, learning that VAR agreed with the referee’s initial decision to give only a yellow card.
How Pereira escaped a red card remains a mystery. If VAR’s Stuart Attwell reviewed the incident and deemed it only worthy of a yellow, it’s difficult to understand his reasoning, especially considering that former top-flight official Mike Dean stated it “100%” warranted a red.
The challenge was a dangerous one that could have seriously injured Gravenberch, who thankfully continued playing. The Premier League’s weak explanation left many Liverpool fans disgusted.
This episode has once again put the Premier League’s officiating standards under scrutiny, especially as VAR failed to take action in such a clear-cut case. The situation was made worse by Pereira’s goal shortly after.
This raises further questions about why VAR communications aren’t shown live, with fans only receiving an explanation after the fact, when it’s too late to change anything.
Football fans deserve better transparency when it comes to controversial decisions like this one.
