Curtis Jones was initially given a yellow card for his foul on Yves Bissouma during the first half of Liverpool's 2-1 defeat at Tottenham; referee Simon Hooper upgraded the punishment to a red card after being advised by the VAR to review the incident at the pitchside monitor
Tuesday 3 October 2023 06:43, UK
Liverpool are preparing to appeal the red card given to Curtis Jones during their controversial 2-1 defeat at Tottenham on Saturday.
The midfielder was sent off for fouling Yves Bissouma in the 26th minute after a VAR intervention.
Referee Simon Hooper had initially shown Jones a yellow card but changed his decision after being advised to go to the pitchside monitor.
Sky Sports News has been told Liverpool feel the tackle did not meet the threshold for excessive force as the 22-year-old made enough contact with the ball and was trying to control it by rolling over it, while there was no basis or intention for serious foul play.
After the defeat in north London, Jurgen Klopp said: "He had full power on the ball, rolls over the ball and then he hits the decisive part of the leg.
"When you see it in slow motion it looks horrendous, but when you see it in real time it's not even that close to being bad. It wasn't even close to being on purpose.
"The game is in real time but we judge it in slow motion."
Jones faces a three-game ban if the red card is not overturned and would sit out Liverpool's Premier League fixtures against Brighton, Everton and Nottingham Forest.
Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher on Monday Night Football:
"I don't think so [they will be successful with the appeal] no. I've got no problem with it being a red card; I'd like to have seen it not given, not because of my Liverpool angle. I always think, if you're a referee, if you possibly can, can you keep 11 vs 11 on the pitch? It probably split people in terms of how they saw it.
"My big problem was what the referee was shown when he went to the VAR monitor and how they got to that decision. That's [the impact of Jones' foot on Bissouma's leg] the first shot he has seen. Straightaway, he's shown that because people feel the referee is going to the monitor to have a second look at an incident. This is not true, this doesn't happen.
"He's getting taken to the monitor to show why he's made a mistake. We've got to get that into our heads with VAR. We've got to stop people feeling the referee is going to take a second look - he's not. I don't believe that should be the first shot
"If the referee is going there to have a look, he should watch the situation at full speed. I'm sick of things being slowed down."
