Ibrahima Konate rejected the narrative around his challenge on Bradley Barcola in Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain, insisting it was “soft.”
Konate was at the centre of controversy on his return to Paris, with a lengthy VAR review required to check a potential red card challenge in the first half.
It came after the centre-back shrugged PSG forward Barcola off the ball when going through on goal, with TNT Sports commentator Rio Ferdinand among those hysterically calling for a sending off.
Even in realtime it looked like a routine challenge for a player of Konate’s strength – and that was his stance as he explained the situation after the match.
“There was a VAR check. If there was a push, like you said, I would have been shown a red card,” he told Canal+, per Get French Football News.
“I’m telling you that there wasn’t a foul. It’s true that I am very strong but I don’t apply power, I just put my arm.
“If I had put a lot more power into it then we could talk about it…but it was soft from me.”
That was not an opinion shared by PSG sporting director Luis Campos, who bellowed at referee Davide Massa in the tunnel at half-time that “it’s a red card or penalty!”
As the players walked to their dressing rooms, Virgil van Dijk replied: “C’mon man, it’s not even a foul. Hey, it’s not even a foul.”
Konate rightly avoided any punishment for winning the ball and Liverpool eventually kept a clean sheet despite facing 27 shots on goal, with Alisson named Man of the Match.
The Frenchman had gone into the tie knowing a yellow card would rule him out of the return leg at Anfield on Tuesday, as one of four Reds at risk of a one-match ban.
Alexis Mac Allister, Andy Robertson and match-winner Harvey Elliott will also miss their next Champions League game if they are booked before the end of the quarter-finals.
In his post-match press conference, Arne Slot praised the performance of Massa, saying he was “just a top referee that should be in a game like this.”
“I think if the referee would’ve blown his whistle [against Konate], the VAR would not have overturned it,” he explained.
“Now it was also clear for me they should not have overturned [his decision] because it was not clearly wrong. It is a big decision, that’s true.”
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