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Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has shed light on why Amadou Onana was spared a red card during Liverpool's triumph over Aston Villa.
The Reds clinched a 2-0 victory against Villa in the top-tier match over the weekend, marking a return to their winning streak and propelling them into the top four. Arne Slot's players had suffered defeats in their previous four Premier League matches before overcoming Villa, and now sit comfortably in third place in the table, gearing up for their face-off with Manchester City next weekend.
Goals from Mohamed Salah and Ryan Gravenberch sealed the win for the Reds at Anfield, but the match wasn't devoid of controversy. The contentious moment came in the second half when Villa midfielder Onana received a booking after a heated altercation with Alexis Mac Allister in the Liverpool penalty area during a corner.
Replays revealed that Onana had his hands around Mac Allister's throat, prompting referee Stuart Attwell to show the former Everton player a yellow card.
VAR reviewed the incident and upheld the on-field decision, meaning no red card was handed out to Onana.
Now, Gallagher has elucidated why Attwell and VAR opted for a caution rather than a dismissal.
"The fact they were pushing and shoving each other and all right, he's raised his arm, probably a bit higher than he wanted, but he's pushing," said Gallagher on Sky Sports' Ref Watch programme.
"Stuart's [Attwell] got to decide, is it violent? Is it an act of brutality? He said: 'No,' he's obviously relayed to the VAR what he's seen, VAR has checked it back. The referee said yellow card only."
Former Premier League striker Jay Boothroyd, appearing in the studio alongside Gallagher, outlined his reasoning for why Onana ought to have received a red card for the altercation involving Mac Allister.
"As much as I like a physical game, I look at this situation, I'm like, if someone puts their hand on my throat in the street like that, you're gonna get an aggressive reaction from me," said Boothroyd.
"So in that instance, I'm saying that should be a red card, because obviously Mac Allister can't do that, right?
"Mac Allister has made the most of it. He's gone down, right? And that's probably because if he reacts, he'll get a red card too.
"So I think he's gone down there, and obviously, it's something that the official should have picked up.
"But I look at that and I say that is aggressive, because again, I reiterate, if that happens off the football pitch and someone does that to you, you're going to react in a certain way, which probably be aggressive, or you're going to call HR!"
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