Alexis Mac Allister should have been penalised against Aston Villa (Credit: Imago)

Keith Hackett

Wed 19 February 2025 22:20, UK

Keith Hackett has slammed Craig Pawson for ignoring Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister’s committed a “clear holding offence” against Aston Villa defender Axel Disasi.

The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that referee Pawson’s failure to act in a timely manner caused the incident that saw Disasi strike Mac Allister in the 2-2 draw between the Reds and the Villains.

Villa went into the match between the two sides hoping for a first win since a 7-2 victory in October 2020.

A mistake from Andres Garcia who was left out of Aston Villa’s Champions League squad, gave Diogo Jota the chance to set-up Mohamed Salah for an easy tap-in, in the 29th minute.

However, a Youri Tielemans strike in the 38th minute put the Villains level, and Arsenal’s January transfer target Ollie Watkins scored on the stroke of half-time to put the Midlands side in front.

Trent Alexander-Arnold would score an equaliser in the 61st minute, ending Villa’s hopes of a first league win in five years against their opponents.

With the score goalless early Disasi and Mac Allister got tangled up in an eye-catching incident.

Alexis Mac Allister and Axel Disasi both at fault says ex-PGMOL chief

In the 22nd minute, with Villa preparing to swing a cross into the box, Mac Allister and Disasi were jostling for position in the box.

The Villa defender then struck the Argentine midfielder in the face, drawing a yellow card from Pawson.

However, when asked by Football Insider, Hackett spotted that only seconds earlier, Mac Allister was actually the first to commit an offence, that should have been spotted by the referee.

The ex-PGMOL chief said:“Clearly, in view of referee Craig Pawson, Mac Allister had got both arms wrapped around his opponent, which was a clear holding offence.

“Why was that not penalised? Because the result was then what we saw with Disasi, striking or attempting to strike an opponent is a red card offence.

“Craig Pawson, if you had acted earlier, you would have avoided that outcome.

“Why didn’t VAR come in and advise the referee to dismiss Disasi?”

Aston Villa miss the chance to move above Fulham in Europe race

Marcus Rashford was signed by Aston Villa in January, and the English star was given a first start by Unai Emery against the table-topping Reds.

The England international impressed off the bench against Ipswich, and put in a similarly impressive performance against Liverpool.

Despite failing to score, Rashford was a dynamic threat all game long, often pinning back Alexander-Arnold in his own half.

However, Villa’s failure to make the most of their dominance against Liverpool leaves them ninth in the table, in a log-jam with other teams like Fulham and Brighton chasing qualification to European football.