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Richard Keys has hit out at referee Michael Oliver following one of his decisions during Liverpool’s win over Burnley at the weekend.
The Reds managed to maintain their perfect start to their Premier League title defense as Mohamed Salah’s late penalty earned them a 1-0 win at Turf Moor on Sunday.
Arne Slot’s side had looked to be on course to drop their first points of the season as they struggled to find a way through a stubborn Burnley defense, but a dramatic end to the game saw Hannibal Mejbri handle Jeremie Frimpong’s cross, presenting Salah with the opportunity to make it four wins out of four for the defending champions.
The hosts had been reduced to 10 men with just over five minutes of normal time remaining after Lesley Ugochukwu picked up a second yellow card for a foul on Florian Wirtz, although things could have been much different following the Burnley midfielder’s first offence.
Ugochukwu picked up his first booking after a reckless challenge on Alexis Mac Allister during the first half. The Liverpool midfielder received treatment after being caught heavily on his ankle, before raising concerns over a potential injury as he was withdrawn at half-time.
The incident was reviewed by VAR at the time, although the check was quickly cleared as Oliver’s original decision was upheld, which has caused some controversy.
Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett is among those to have suggested Ugochukwu should have been shown a straight red card for his challenge on Mac Allister - a view that has been supported by Keys.
The outspoken former Sky Sports host took aim at Oliver, as well as VAR and current PGMOL chief Howard Webb, as he questioned why Ugochukwu escaped with just a yellow card.
“Ugochukwu has got to go for that lunge on Mac Allister. That was really nasty,” Keys wrote in his blog.
“Why didn’t he? Because Michael Oliver was ref and as we know nobody questions Michael. But Oliver got another one wrong.
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“I’m keeping count of these errors for Howard Webb because our chief ref struggles with his adding up. Three VAR errors last season? That’s really funny.”
Despite being brought off at half-time, Mac Allister looks to have avoided any sort of serious injury following the challenge, with the midfielder seen training with Liverpool on Tuesday ahead of the Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid.
Liverpool.com says: It has been a really poor start to the season for the Premier League’s officials. Liverpool has already had more than its fair share of bad calls, starting with that baffling handball call against Bournemouth.
Both that and Ugochukwu’s foul on Sunday could have dramatically changed how those games panned out - not that Liverpool will mind too much right now, having eventually won both, but it worrying just how many errors are still being made, even with VAR.
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