It has been confirmed why Fulham midfielder Andreas Pereira wasn't sent off minutes before giving the Cottagers the lead in their 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Saturday. The Brazilian opened the scoring with an acrobatic effort via a deflection off Andy Robertson, who would be given his marching orders shortly after for his last-man challenge on Harry Wilson.
The visitors were unable to use the extra man to their advantage as they failed to hang on to all three points. However, many, including former referee Mike Dean, believed that they should have been down to ten men themselves after Pereira raked his boot down the back of Ryan Gravenberch's leg. After initially refusing to comment on the situation, the Premier League have now clarified why the midfielder was allowed to continue.
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Premier League Explain Pereira Decision
The VAR agreed with the referee's call on the challenge prior to the opener
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In the hours since the game, it has been confirmed via an enquiry by the Liverpool Echo that the reason Pereira was allowed to stay on the pitch was because the VAR officials agreed with referee Tony Harrington's on-field decision of a yellow card. While more detail was not given as to why this was, it can only be assumed that it was decided the Brazilian's challenge lacked the force to warrant a sending-off.
Speaking on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday coverage, former Premier League referee Mike Dean stated that he thought the challenge was a "100% red card." He said:
"It's the same challenge as Wilfried Ndidi on the back of Cole Palmer. He's caught him just above the achilles with his studs and and scraped down to the top of the boot. In my opinion he's nowhere near the ball, he knows what he's doing and it's 100% a red card."
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The former Manchester United youngster is not the only one deemed to have been fortunate to not be sent for an early bath, as teammate Issa Diop also avoided a red card inside the first minute of proceedings at Anfield.