Ex-Fifa referee: Bednarek should get extended ban as controversial Liverpool-Southampton footage emerges
Jan Bednarek should have been sent off for his foul on Sadio Mane in Southampton’s 4-0 loss to Liverpool, according to Keith Hackett.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League referee suggested the fact the incident was only in the 11th minute may have saved Bednarek.
The 25-year-old appeared to go studs-up into a challenge with Mane after the Liverpool man controlled a pass, as shown on the BBC’s Match of the Day programme.
Liverpool were awarded a free kick while Andre Marriner gave Bednarek a yellow card.
A red card would have seen him handed a three-match ban meaning he would have been unavailable for Southampton’s games with Leicester City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Arsenal.
Asked for his verdict after analysing the footage with Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley, Hackett said: “When I first saw it, I thought it was a red card.
“The reason I’ve seen it as red is that the Southampton player has come in from the back and raked his studs down the Liverpool player’s Achilles, a very vulnerable area. For me, that was a red card.
“I just wonder if Andre Marriner needed a bit of time to warm up and get up to speed. It was early doors.”
Bednarek has now received three yellow cards in nine Premier League appearances, including two in his last two.
The Poland international signed a new long-term deal with Southampton last season and is now under contract until the summer of 2025.
In other news, a Premier League club are laying the groundwork to sign a Liverpool ‘monster’ and £12m will seal a January deal.