Ibrahima Konate was the subject of VAR scrutiny for his challenge on Bradley Barcola, but Paris Saint-Germain’s sporting director was left furious after no red card or penalty was awarded.
Liverpool faced a tough trip to the home of the Ligue 1 leaders and were forced to suffer as the hosts piled on the pressure before Harvey Elliott landed a late, late blow for a 1-0 win.
In the first half, an offside review ruled out what the hosts thought was the opener but the big flashpoint, especially if you were PSG or Rio Ferdinand, was Konate’s challenge on Barcola.
In a show of physical strength and body positioning, Konate moved his fellow Frenchman off the ball with his forearm – it was a non-event for the referee but VAR did review for a red card and penalty.
VAR says no ?
Liverpool's hearts are in their mouth for a moment as VAR checks Konaté's challenge on Barcola, but the referee waves play on ?
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Both were dismissed, rightly, and it left PSG sporting director, Luis Campos, fuming in the tunnel at halftime and footage brilliantly showed Virgil van Dijk shutting down his outburst.
The exchange, via CANAL+ Foot, went as follows:
Luis Campos shouted: “It’s a red card or penalty!”
Van Dijk responded: “C’mon man, it’s not even a foul. Hey, it’s not even a foul.”
Raising his voice, Campos continued: “It’s a red card or penalty. It’s a red card or penalty!”
His volume then escalated to what could be described as a scream: “It’s a red card or penalty in any football match.”
@magfoot_tv Luis campos fou du rage à la mi temps de #PSG #Liverpool #fyp #pourtoi #championsleague ? Very Sad – Enchan
It was a no-nonsense retort from Van Dijk, clearly of no mind to entertain the cries from the PSG man as he made his way to the dressing room to regroup with his teammates.
It was a fair challenge by Konate and it only would have been another story if he had used his hands – you can only imagine Campos’ headloss when Harvey Elliott scored to make it 1-0.
The job, however, is only halfway done for Liverpool, but Wednesday’s victory showcased another string to an already impressive bow.
What Arne Slot had to say about Konate incident
Asked directly about the performance of referee Davide Massa and the Konate incident by a French reporter, Slot said: “It’s not easy for a referee in a game like this where the fans are so there for the home team.
“Apart from that one moment where you could argue if it’s a red, yes or no, with Ibou and Barcola, I didn’t feel he was in favour of us or them.
“It 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.
“Now it was also clear for me they should not have overturned it (the no red card) because it was not clearly wrong. It is a big decision, that’s true.”
Slot then held himself back, concluding: “No, I’m not going to say what I want to say. Let’s keep it like this.”
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