A flagrant foul that halts the development of an attack is usually met with a yellow card, but that was not the case for Newcastle’s Joelinton at Anfield, and the reason for this is perplexing.
Jurgen Klopp’s team dominated the Magpies, and the visitors then threw their toys out the pram and resorted to some dubious challenges.
Dominik Szoboszlai was on the attack and ventured into Newcastle’s half during the first half, when Joelinton brutally grabbed and tugged the midfielder’s shoulder.
Liverpool’s No. 8 went down, and as the Reds waited for the whistle, referee Anthony Taylor signaled for the game to continue, with the Reds now in the final third.
One can applaud the referee for attempting to keep the game moving, but when that section of play ended more than a minute later, there was no yellow card thrown in Joelinton’s direction.
After the ball went out for a Newcastle corner, Anfield exploded, and Mohamed Salah hurried to Taylor’s side to plead Liverpool’s case.
The PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) has now explained why Newcastle’s No. 7 did not receive a booking.
According to The Times’ Henry Winter, Taylor did not display a yellow card because the “holding offence in the first half (that) interfered with a promising attack and advantage was played, therefore no caution.”
It is governed by Law 12 Section 3: “If the referee plays the advantage for an offence for which a caution/sending-off would have been issued had play been stopped, this caution/sending-off must be issued when the ball is next out of play.”
PGMOL seek to clarify why Taylor didn’t go back and book Joelinton for “holding offence in the first half (that) interfered with a promising attack and advantage was played, therefore no caution” as 👇 #LIVNEW pic.twitter.com/2k1yOTBbfU
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) January 2, 2024
“However, if the offence was denying the opposing team an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, the player is cautioned for unsporting behaviour; if the offence was interfering with or stopping a promising attack, the player is not cautioned.”
The rules are the rules, but they are not always followed, and you can understand the obvious anger with the lack of consistency.
A team is more likely to prefer a caution handed to the opposition than a half-chance from an advantage, especially when Joelinton only drew a yellow card in the 66th minute.
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