Sunderland were unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty just before half time in their Liverpool defeat
Régis Le Bris has revealed that referee Chris Kavanagh conceded he should have awarded Sunderland a penalty against Liverpool on Wednesday night.
Kavanagh decided against giving a foul after Brian Brobbey and Ibrahima Konate challenged in the penalty box as Sunderland attempted to cross from the right flank. A brief VAR check followed but Kavanagh’s decision stood, with the half time whistle then blown.
Le Bris made the admission as he reflected on Brobbey’s impressive recent form, and having been asked if he was frustrated that the striker wasn’t getting more from officials.
“I do agree,” Le Bris said.
“The referee recognised his mistake at half-time, the penalty. It was a pen. His style of play is physical but he needs respect and a different point of view. It's not a usual style of play and I think at the minute he might be rewarded more often for sure.”
Brobbey has emerged as a key player for Sunderland after a period of adjustment following his move from Ajax on deadline day last summer. Brobbey drew praise from Virgil Van Dijk after the game, who feels the striker can improve further still moving forward.
Le Bris agrees with that sentiment and has told the 24-year-old to keep progressing.
“Yes [I agree],” Le Bris said.
“And the two centre-backs on Wednesday were really good. Van Dijk and Konate were absolutely fantastic.
“I spoke a bit with Brian this morning [Friday]. It shows they respected us. They are Liverpool and we faced a big, big challenge. He needs to keep going and with more opportunities and connections with his teammates, there will be the normal process of improvement. It was tough against Liverpool. He had three or four opportunities but the defenders were really excellent. He just has to keep going and keep the same mindset.”
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What Virgil Van Dijk said about Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey
“If you use him well, he's obviously a handful,” Van Dijk said.
“He's strong, he's fit, much fitter than I think he was over the years. And there's so much more to ask from him, and I'm very, very pleased and I'm happy that he's doing so well for Sunderland.
“Like I said, he's a handful, and 90 per cent of today's challenges Ibrahima had to solve, because he was most of the time with Ibrahima (Konaté). Maybe he got fed up with me defending in the national team, but I'm pleased for him and hopefully he can take that form that he has, because he's in form in my opinion, towards the rest of the season and take it with us to the World Cup. And that's something hopefully he can do.”
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