{"id":317414,"date":"2025-12-15T15:38:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T15:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/317414\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T15:38:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T15:38:12","slug":"diego-gomez-shouldve-been-sent-off-against-liverpool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/317414\/","title":{"rendered":"Diego Gomez should’ve been sent off against Liverpool"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dermot Gallagher and Jay Bothroyd agreed that Liverpool would have every right to feel aggrieved about one refereeing decision at Anfield on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The Reds\u2019 2-0 victory over Brighton was a hugely satisfying one, with Hugo Ekitike netting both goals and Mo Salah getting a rousing reception<\/a> when he came on, with the Kopites in attendance giving both him and Arne Slot their firm backing.<\/p>\n

However, there was one flashpoint shortly before half-time when Diego Gomez caught Florian Wirtz in the chest<\/a> with a straight boot which was nowhere near the ball. Despite the incident being referred to VAR, Craig Pawson\u2019s initial verdict of yellow card was cleared to stand.<\/p>\n

\"DeigoImage via Sky SportsWhat did Gallagher say about Gomez\u2019s lunge on Wirtz?<\/p>\n

On Monday morning, Gallagher reviewed the incident on\u00a0Sky Sports<\/a>\u2018 Ref Watch feature, and he felt that the Paraguayan was very lucky to remain on the pitch.<\/p>\n

The ex-Premier League referee said: \u201cI think it is a red card and I thought it was a red card on Saturday. The ball is a clue for me. Look where it is; he has no chance of winning it. He goes in high, dangerously.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only defence he can have is if he\u2019d gone for the ball. He can\u2019t; the ball is not there. I\u2019m convinced it is a red card. When Wirtz plays the ball, the challenge hasn\u2019t even been made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jay Bothroyd agreed with Gallagher\u2019s verdict, saying: \u201cCraig Pawson is [standing] right there. He\u2019s looking from an angle where he can see the player\u2019s studs and Wirtz\u2019s chest. The ball is gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand how the referee and VAR have come to the decision that it is a yellow card. It\u2019s a challenge of frustration. Liverpool are winning and playing well. That reminds me of [Nigel] De Jong\u2019s challenge in the [2010] World Cup final.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DiegoImage via Sky SportsHow on earth did Gomez get away with only a yellow card?<\/p>\n

When Gallagher \u2013 speaking from a position of neutrality and as a former top-flight referee \u2013 is adamant that Gomez should\u2019ve been sent off for his lunge on Wirtz, that adds further credence to any feelings of injustice Liverpool might have.<\/p>\n

The German had played the ball at least a second before the Brighton player connected with his chest, and the challenge was highly dangerous. Also, as Bothroyd pointed out, Pawson couldn\u2019t have had a better view of the incident.<\/p>\n

For him and VAR to deem it worthy of only a yellow card is astounding, particularly when Ibrahima Konate was later booked for a harmless offence. It\u2019s that inconsistency which is so maddening for football fans the length and breadth of the country.<\/p>\n

Thankfully Wirtz was able to carry on after Gomez\u2019s lunge and put in another strong performance, but that still doesn\u2019t change the reality that the Paraguayan could count his blessings at not being sent off.<\/p>\n

Liverpool ultimately prevailed after a stern test from a very good Brighton side, but that shouldn\u2019t absolve the officials from an inexplicable call which, on another day, could\u2019ve had massive consequences.<\/p>\n

You can watch Slot\u2019s full post-Brighton\u00a0press conference below, via\u00a0Empire of the Kop<\/a>\u00a0on YouTube:<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dermot Gallagher and Jay Bothroyd agreed that Liverpool would have every right to feel aggrieved about one refereeing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317415,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[218,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-317414","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}