The reason Darwin Nunez avoided a red card for his heedless challenge against Southampton on Saturday has been revealed. The Uruguayan international appeared to lash out at Kyle Walker-Peters in frustration while Liverpool trailed 1-0 at Anfield. However, referee Lewis Smith deemed the incident worthy of only a yellow card. Nunez later equalised and won the penalty that helped secure a 3-1 victory for the Reds.
The win marked another crucial three points in the title race, and unless Arsenal mount a miraculous comeback or the runaway leaders suffer an unexpected collapse, the Reds seem poised to claim their second Premier League title in five years. But rival supporters have once again pointed to luck and contentious decisions as factors favouring Arne Slot’s side.
While Liverpool’s fortune has sparked debate, so too have the decisions that benefited Southampton. Mike Dean argued that VAR failed to properly review Will Smallbone’s opener for offside, and new details have now emerged explaining why Nunez was not shown a red card.
Sky Sports revealed that Nunez’s challenge in the first half was not deemed a red card as it was not seen to be serious foul play by the referee. The foul on Walker-Peters was seen as a reckless challenge and a yellow card. See the incident below:
Premier League referee Mike Dean believed the decision to allow the Uruguayan to continue playing was the correct one. “I think the right decision is yellow [card],” he told the Soccer Saturday panel.
“It looks really bad, but when you see it from another angle, it’s knee on knee. From another angle, it looks like he’s completely launched him, but he hasn’t.”
Joe Hart had a different opinion on the situation during his Match of the Day analysis. “We see on the replay that he’s missed the ball. Luckily, he’s also missed the player because that could have been a terrible, terrible incident at the end of the first half – 1-0 down and losing a player,” the former England goalkeeper claimed.
Liverpool’s next fixture as they hunt down a treble comes in the form of the Champions League Round of 16 second leg against Paris-Saint Germain. They will currently feel lucky to lead 1-0 heading into Tuesday’s clash at Anfield, and still have it all to do before they make the pilgrimage down south to Wembley Stadium to face Newcastle United in the League Cup final next Sunday.
