The common consensus among Liverpool fans this evening will be that Andreas Pereira was very lucky to still be on the pitch at the time that he opened the scoring for Fulham in their 2-2 draw at Anfield.
The midfielder was booked in the early exchanges for a dangerous foul on Ryan Gravenberch, catching the Reds’ number 38 with a raking challenge down the back of his Achilles, with replays showing that a red card would very much have been warranted.
To add insult to injury, the ex-Manchester United player found the net just two minutes later, taking advantage of slack defending from the home side.
The Premier League Match Centre on X explained why Issa Diop avoided a red card for his first-minute lunge on Andy Robertson, and why the Liverpool left-back was sent off for a last-man foul in the 17th minute (there had been a lengthy check for a possible offside in the build-up but the on-field decision stood).
Premier League explain Pereira decision
It didn’t address the Pereira/Gravenberch incident, but the Liverpool Echo took it upon themselves to contact representatives from the EPL to ascertain why the Fulham midfielder got away with just a booking.
They outlined: ‘The ECHO contacted the Premier League for clarification around the decision and it is understood that the VAR agreed with Harrington’s initial ruling of the foul, meaning Pereira was able to continue on and open the scoring at Anfield.’
Andreas Pereira scored in Fulham's 2-2 draw at Liverpool on Saturday
(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
How the hell did Pereira get away with that one?
If Stuart Attwell on VAR looked at that incident but didn’t deem it worthy of a red card, we’d have to wonder what his thought process was in that moment. The fact that former top-flight official Mike Dean thought it ‘100%’ merited a sending-off speaks volumes.
It was the kind of cowardly challenge by Pereira which could’ve inflicted a nasty injury on Gravenberch, who thankfully was able to continue for the entire match, and the flimsy explanation from the EPL would make Liverpool fans want to vomit.
Unfortunately, standards of officiating in the Premier League will yet again be under the microscope after that inexplicable abdication of duty by those in Stockley Park, and the frustration was compounded by the Fulham midfielder scoring almost immediately afterwards.
This once again begs the question as to why VAR conversations aren’t broadcast in realtime, instead only being released in a stage-managed production from Howard Webb when it’s too late to do anything about it. Football fans deserve a proper explanation for such controversial moments, especially when they beggar belief in the manner that this one did.