Milos Kerkez ‘would have got red card’ as Liverpool footage re-analysed – Keith Hackett
Milos Kerkez would likely have landed a red card had he stayed on for Liverpool’s last-gasp win over Burnley, according to Keith Hackett.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that Arne Slot was right to substitute Kerkez as the full-back continued to struggle during the 1-0 win over Scott Parker‘s side and he needs training on some of the game’s rules.
After 22 minutes, the Hungarian international was cautioned for a clear act of simulation, a moment which came shortly after Lesley Ugochukwu should have been red-carded after fouling Alexis Mac Allister.
Just 12 minutes later, Kerkez conceded a free-kick on the halfway line, breaking up the Clarets’ counter-attack by dragging Jaidon Anthony to the floor, with Slot finally deciding to replace him with Andy Robertson.
Arne Slot drags Milos Kerkez off to avoid a sending off
During his 38 minutes on the pitch [FotMob], the 21-year-old committed two fouls, lost 100 per cent of his ground duels, accurately delivered 25 per cent of his crosses, and was booked for simulation.
Fellow full-back Conor Bradley also ran the risk of being sent off after a late challenge on Anthony, who continued to cause issues for the Reds for much of the game on Sunday, 14 September.
Of course, despite all of the controversial incidents, Mohamed Salah was able to score the winner from the penalty spot after a cruel decision went against Hannibal Mejbri for handball in added time.
The Reds’ challenge could have been made much more difficult had they gone down to 10 men, but in the end, Hackett believes that Michael Oliver made the right call on Kerkez.
Michael Oliver hailed for his decision-making in Liverpool’s win
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former referee said: “The incident on its own, that’s a yellow card. What we see here is Michael Oliver, who had one of his best games for some time, saw what is essentially an orange card.
“He saw a free-kick as sufficient because it’s not reckless or worthy of a card, which is followed by a red, so I think the referee got this one right.
“Well done to the manager as well. He saw that his player was having great difficulty walking the line. What happens tactically is that, once a player is on a yellow card, the opponents adjust accordingly and apply more pressure.
“I think he’d have struggled to last for the second 45 minutes. Let’s hope he gets some training.”