Phil McNulty blasts ‘inexplicable’ incident in Everton v Liverpool as ‘complete inconsistency’ verdict shared
It is “inexplicable” how referee Craig Pawson did not send off Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate against Everton, according to BBC Sport chief football writer Phil McNulty.
Toffees defender Ashley Young received two yellow cards in the Premier League clash between the clubs on Saturday (21 October).
But Konate avoided the same punishment later on in the match despite committing a similar offence, with the Reds winning the match 2-0.
When asked if Pawson was too weak to officiate the match, McNulty wrote for BBC Sport: “Impossible to say if he was too weak, as he would defend himself vigorously against that accusation and it is purely a matter of opinion.
“What I will say is that it is pretty much inexplicable how he gave Ashley Young two yellow cards then decided Konate’s clear and quite cynical foul on Beto was not worthy of a second yellow card.
“Everton’s anger was fully justified because of the complete inconsistency and I think most observers were staggered Konate stayed on – and that probably included Jurgen Klopp, who promptly substituted him.”
Angry Toffees
Everton manager Sean Dyche is understandably angry at the decision from Pawson to allow Konate to stay on the pitch, and the boss will certainly be angry for quite some time.
Whether the final outcome of the match would have been different will never be known, but Dyche will only be considering what could have been.
He lost veteran defender Young early on in the game, with the former Manchester United and Aston Villa ace making a couple of poor decisions at Anfield.
But Konate also made a few foolish ones, and was definitely lucky not to see red, with Klopp fully aware of the pressure his defender was under as he replaced him with Joel Matip shortly after.
Dyche’s frustrations in the away dugout led to him receiving a yellow card, with such frustrations also evident in his players at the full-time whistle.
They definitely put up a fight with 10 men, but in the end it wasn’t meant to be thanks to a brace from Liverpool star Mohamed Salah.
In other Everton news, a clear timeline has emerged for the Toffees to sign one Premier League man as Fabrizio Romano drops a transfer update.