Keith Hackett: Liverpool could try to sue Arsenal over controversial incident
Liverpool’s feud with Arsenal could continue off the pitch after Gabriel Martinelli clashed with Conor Bradley at the Emirates Stadium.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett, who exclusively told Football Insider that Martinelli could face further sanction after the news of the Liverpool star’s long-term injury.
Bradley is now sidelined for the foreseeable future at Anfield, having to undergo surgery despite avoiding an ACL injury, and the Reds are understandably furious over the situation.
This has all emerged after Mikel Arteta‘s winger attempted to lift the injured player off the pitch, having also dropped the football on him, with emotions bubbling over in North London.
While Hackett believes Martinelli is not fully to blame for thinking that Bradley was feigning injury, some supporters are adamant that the player caused more damage with his actions.
Liverpool could take off-pitch action after Conor Bradley blow
In added time on Saturday, 10 January, Bradley was seriously hurt while trying to make a clearance, only to be thrown about by his opponent, angering the Liverpool team.
Gary Neville was even surprised that none of Bradley’s teammates started a fight with the Arsenal man, and the game’s main talking point has only continued into the following week.
With the news that Arne Slot will be without another player for a long period, the Anfield faithful are out for blood, and Hackett has suggested that there could be a legal issue for all parties.
According to the former PGMOL boss, it would not be the first time recently that a player has been taken to court over an injury in football, with the same being mooted in this situation.
Keith Hackett has warned Arsenal over Gabriel Martinelli’s actions
Hackett, exclusively speaking to Football Insider on The Final Whistle, said: “I’ve been involved recently in court cases, where one player takes another player to court on the basis that an injury has ruined their career.
“There is always that risk, and a club could always try to sue a player because they’ve lost their player. It’s a good point to raise because, in football as a whole, the players have a duty of care towards their opponents.
“Could the referee have got in earlier? What’s surprising is that some people didn’t realise how serious the injury was, because there wasn’t an overreaction.”