Wolves boss Vitor Pereira was left frustrated with the decision not to send Ibrahima Konate off for two yellow cards in his side’s 2-1 defeat at Liverpool.
Konate was booked by referee Simon Hooper after 31 minutes for tugging back Matheus Cunha on the break, with the Liverpool defender then kicking the ball away shortly after the whistle blew.
Then, with the first half drawing to a close, Konate went in late on Cunha after challenging for a header right on the edge of the Liverpool penalty area. Hooper awarded the free-kick to Wolves, but gave no further punishment – with Konate then replaced by Jarrell Quansah in the half-time break.
Asked if he was frustrated by the decision, Pereira – who himself was booked during the game – told Sky Sports: “Yes of course. Second yellow card, red card, less one player, maybe it would be a different game.
“But I’m not a referee. I’m not there to decide. But in the end, I’m very happy and proud of my players in the second half.”
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Wolves manager Vitor Pereira believes his team showed Liverpool too much respect in their loss and thinks they could have got an equaliser.
On the decision to keep Konate on the pitch, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp said: “He’s extremely lucky. Konate’s first booking is definitely one, stopping a counter-attack.
“Once you’ve been booked, you can’t give the referee a decision to make. And he goes into a really clumsy decision. You can’t afford to go into those challenges.”
Asked why he took him off at half-time, Liverpool manager Arne Slot said: “Yes, I took him off because of that.
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Mohamed Salah scores a penalty to double Liverpool’s lead against Wolves after Luis Diaz won the spot kick.
“I saw him getting his first yellow, that was for me a soft yellow. If he would have gotten a second one for a shoulder push, that would again be a soft yellow. So then he would have been sent off by two soft yellows. I think the referee felt the same, that’s why he didn’t [send him off].
“But I’ve watched football so many times in my life and I know that a player and a referee is then under pressure. So every next foul will lead again to maybe a referee that thinks, maybe I should give him.
“For him it was so difficult to play 45 minutes off the ball against a strong Wolves team. So I had to take him off because you can’t play football knowing in your head you can make a foul against such good players.”
Liverpool have been there before…
Conor Bradley nearly picked up two bookings in the Merseyside derby draw to Everton
It is the third Premier League game in a row in which Liverpool have avoided a second yellow card for one of their players.
In the midweek Merseyside derby draw with Everton, Conor Bradley ran the risk of a second booking when – already on a yellow – he stopped Abdoulaye Doucoure on the counter.
Watching the game on Soccer Special, Sky Sports pundit Tim Sherwood said referee Michael Oliver made the right call to keep Bradley on the pitch but – like Konate against Wolves – the young right-back was substituted within two minutes of his scare.
In Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Bournemouth on February 1, Alexis Mac Allister brought Cherries winger David Brooks down on the counter while already booked.
Alexis Mac Allister avoided a second yellow card against Bournemouth
“That could have quite easily been a another booking for Mac Allister,” said Sky Sports’ Kris Boyd watching the game, and Slot took three minutes to then take the Argentina midfielder off.
Should Liverpool’s penalty vs Wolves have been given?
Wolves may also feel aggrieved over the decision to award Liverpool a first-half penalty on Super Sunday, with Mohamed Salah’s converted spot-kick proving to be the winner.
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Mohamed Salah scores a penalty to double Liverpool’s lead against Wolves after Luis Diaz won the spot kick.
A long ball forward saw Luis Diaz challenge Emmanuel Agbadou in the Wolves half via a nudge in the back. Diaz went on to run through on goal and win a penalty off goalkeeper Jose Sa.
Reacting to the decision at half-time, Sky Sports’ Redknapp said: “Does Sa foul him? Absolutely. It’s definitely a penalty.
“I do think there’s a nudge on Agbadou. But Agbadou has to do better. He’d been doing well up until that point.”
Asked about that incident after the game, Wolves boss Pereira told Sky Sports: “Everything that I can say now will not change the decision.
“It means I have my opinion, but I keep my opinion to myself. I prefer not to speak about referees.”
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