Why Richarlison should've been sent off vs Liverpool according to ex-referee chief

Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett believes Richarlison should have been sent off for putting his hand on a Liverpool player's neck after scoring in Tottenham's defeat on Saturday

Richarlison leans on top of Hugo Ekitike after scoring for Tottenham against Liverpool on Saturday(Image: Getty Images)

Richarlison was lucky not to be the third Tottenham player shown the red card in Saturday's action-packed match against Liverpool, according to a former PGMOL chief.

Former Everton star Richarlison reduced Tottenham's deficit to one goal in the 83rd minute with a close-range strike. This set the stage for a nail-biting finale, with Spurs, already down to 10 men after Xavi Simons' first-half dismissal and later seeing Cristian Romero sent off, launching an all-out attack on the Liverpool goal.

But Liverpool managed to cling on to its lead, with earlier goals from Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike securing a third consecutive victory in all competitions. Yet, according to some, Richarlison should not have been on the pitch to spearhead the late onslaught.

That's the opinion of former PGMOL boss Keith Hackett, who believes the Brazilian could have followed Simons to the dressing room for his actions immediately after netting his fifth Premier League goal against Liverpool. The 28-year-old rushed to retrieve the ball from the net but ended up falling on top of Ekitike, who had slipped while attempting to clear the ball.

Richarlison then placed his hand on the back of the Reds forward's neck before dashing out of the box, where he was confronted by Dominik Szoboszlai and Jeremie Frimpong.

Szoboszlai was subsequently booked, ruling him out of this weekend's home game against Wolves. However, Hackett believes Richarlison could have been shown red.

Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai confronts Richarlison(Image: Getty Images)

"There is no doubt that Richarlison is a competitive individual and certainly one that a referee needs to keep his eye on," he told Football Insider.

"In this particular situation, we see Richarlison with his hand on the neck of his opponent as he is getting up off the ground. There's a little pressure.

"Could easily have been a red card but was completely missed by officials, ignored by VAR and as a result, nothing happens. It could have been a red card mister Richarlison. Behave yourself."

Simons received his marching orders after 33 minutes for a challenge on Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk after referee John Brooks was prompted by VAR to review his pitchside monitor, having initially brandished a yellow card.

Romero, who had previously been cautioned, saw red for a second bookable offence during stoppage time following a scuffle on the turf with Ibrahima Konate after being fouled by Van Dijk's center-back partner.

Reds boss Arne Slot also believed Romero's defensive partner, Micky van de Ven, merited dismissal for his tackle on Isak during the opening goal. The incident resulted in the forward suffering a severe leg injury that will sideline him for a minimum of two months.

Slot commented: "Yeah, (Isak's injury) was a reckless challenge. "I've said a lot about the tackle of Xavi Simons, which, for me, was completely unintentional. I don't think you will ever get an injury out of a tackle like that.

"But the tackle of Van de Ven, if you make a tackle like that 10 times, 10 times there is a serious chance the player gets a serious injury."