It seems that the only thing consistent about refereeing at the highest level in English football is the inconsistency.
That must be how Liverpool fans are feeling this afternoon after witnessing a shocking challenge from Malo Gusto in today’s Premier League clash between Chelsea and Fulham.
The Blues defender went in high on Willian, making no contact with the ball and catching the Brazilian winger above the ankle with studs showing. The offence drew a yellow card from Anthony Taylor and a subsequent VAR review sided with the on-field decision.
Should Malo Gusto have received a red card for this challenge on Willian? 🤔
He got away with only a yellow 👀 pic.twitter.com/Uv17dDxzdr
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 13, 2024
Now, let’s compare that tackle with the one which saw Curtis Jones sent off during Liverpool’s hugely controversial 2-1 defeat at Tottenham in September.
The Reds midfielder caught Yves Bissouma on the shin, with Simon Hooper upgrading his initial yellow card to a red upon consulting the VAR monitor, despite the perpetrator’s studs sliding over the ball and then making contact with the Spurs player.
"It's the wrong still to start with. This again is where VAR is wrong"
The Ref Watch panel discuss Curtis Jones' red card against Tottenham 🟥 pic.twitter.com/qNWfFyYsDp
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 2, 2023
That wasn’t the only harsh red card doled out to a Liverpool player this season, either. Think back to our first home match of the campaign against Bournemouth in August, when Alexis Mac Allister saw red for a foul on Ryan Christie.
The Argentine wasn’t even showing his studs when he clipped the Cherries player, so how Thomas Bramall saw fit to send him off was baffling – so much so that the decision was overturned on appeal from the Reds, with the ex-Brighton midfielder not having to serve a suspension.
Even with three different on-field referees responsible for the decisions cited above, it’s incomprehensible how the fouls committed by Jones and Mac Allister could be deemed worthy of a heavier punishment than Gusto’s on Willian today.
It becomes even more inexcusable in this era of VAR, which was supposed to help eradicate refereeing errors from football but has served only to cause uproar on a weekly basis since its introduction.
To think that the Chelsea player’s over-the-top tackle on Willian received the same sanction as Harvey Elliott momentarily objecting to a decision in last week’s FA Cup win over Arsenal truly boggles the mind.