‘Act of violence’ – Ex-PGMOL boss stunned as Aston Villa star avoids ‘instant red card’ vs Liverpool
Stuart Attwell should have sent Unai Emery’s side down to 10 men after what one Aston Villa star did against Liverpool.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that VAR should have helped the referee during the Anfield clash on Saturday, 1 November.
Ryan Gravenberch returned from injury with a bang, cementing the Reds’ win against the Villans after Mohamed Salah opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time with his 250th goal for the club.
Heading into the game, Arne Slot was under tremendous pressure at Liverpool, but after securing all three points, his side are just one point behind second-place Man City in the Premier League table.
Amadou Onana avoids a blatant red card vs Liverpool
Matters could have been even worse for Villa, who remain 11th in the Premier League table after losing their third league game of the 2025-26 campaign despite just beating the Citizens last weekend.
In the 73rd minute, with the majority of players all bundled together inside the six-yard area waiting for a corner, Amadou Onana and Alexis Mac Allister clashed, leaving the latter clutching his face on the ground.
Replays showed a clear hit to the throat by Onana, but due to Attwell addressing the situation with a yellow card for the guilty party, there can be no retrospective action for the Villa man.
Salah faced a similar situation at Liverpool last weekend, lunging into a challenge on Kevin Schade, and Hackett continues to be frustrated by the lack of intervention during games.
Keith Hackett sends a message as a former head of the PGMOL
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former referee said: “I’m quite clear that when a player puts his hands on the throat or face of an opponent, that is an act of violence.
“I know some at the PGMOL think there has to be excessive force. They probably want to see the guy nearly put in the hospital, but that shouldn’t be the case. We’re playing football. When I was the boss, I was clear that this should be an instant red card.
“It’s clearly now been watered down because they’re not applying it. They don’t understand how much of a deterrent it can be in these situations.
“Given VAR intervention, I’m a little bit surprised that the referee wasn’t sent over to the monitor to make a decision. That is the very minimum that I would expect. I think they’ve got it wrong.”