'Told me': Arne Slot explains what the fourth official said to him about why Lucas Bergvall wasn't sent off
Yesterday at 06:30 PM
Liverpool were left aggrieved on Wednesday evening after falling to a 1-0 defeat against Tottenham.
The Reds were not good enough at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but there was controversy surrounding Spurs’ late winner.
There was little debate that Lucas Bergvall should have received a second yellow card for a lunging tackle on Kostas Tsimikas.
With Tsimikas still off the pitch, Bergvall typically snuck in to put Spurs ahead and send Liverpool back to Merseyside with a first-leg loss.
Virgil van Dijk berated referee Stuart Attwell but it was to no avail.
Speaking after the game, an understandably frustrated Arne Slot explained what he’d been told by the fourth official about why Bergvall was not sent off as he should have been.
Arne Slot explains Lucas Bergvall decision
It was clear to just about everybody – everybody apart from a remarkably ungracious Ange Postecoglou – that Bergvall should not have been on the pitch by the time he scored.
His challenge on Tsimikas was just about the clearest yellow card you’re ever likely to see.
Nevertheless, Atwell did not issue the Swede his marching orders. And according to Slot, there were two reasons for that.
“The fourth official told me why he thought it wasn’t a second yellow and of course he heard that from the referee,” the Liverpool head coach told Sky Sports.
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“When we came inside, Robbo [Andy Robertson], was asking the referee.
“What we can say is that he didn’t stop the counter attack, but every manager would prefer a second yellow over a counter attack and then the second thing is if you stop a counter with a reckless challenge he could still give a yellow, but he didn’t see it as a reckless challenge. We can debate that but it is what it is.”
Ange Postecoglou says it was not a yellow card
Show Bergvall’s tackle to any football fan and they will tell you that it is a yellow card offence.
But speaking in his own post-match interview, Tottenham manager Postecoglou was unbelievably claiming that his team did not in fact get lucky.
“He wasn’t [lucky to stay on], because the rule is and we’ve been told for quite a while that if the advantage is played, as long as it’s not a cynical tackle, then the yellow card doesn’t get paid,” the Australian said to Sky Sports.
“Now, to me, that was pretty clear.”
Disregarding the fact that it was one of the most cynical tackles you’re ever likely to see, I suppose you’re absolutely right, Ange.
