Controversy has arisen during Liverpool’s Premier League encounter against Chelsea as Tosin Adarabioyo avoided a red card after he pulled Diogo Jota to the ground just inside the Blues’ half. The incident looked incredibly similar to the one for which William Saliba was dismissed during Arsenal’s 2-0 loss to Bournemouth on Saturday evening.
The Frenchman dragged Evanilson to the ground and after he was initially only shown a yellow card, a VAR check deemed he had denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity, so he received his marching orders. Despite Adarabioyo’s foul looking nearly identical at first glance, he was ultimately just shown a a yellow card for the foul and this time, VAR didn’t recommend a closer look.
To provide insight as to why the Chelsea man didn’t suffer a similar fate to Saliba, Mike Dean checked in on commentary to explain the differences between both moments.
Mike Dean Explains Difference
Former Premier League explained why it was different to William Saliba incident.
Seeing the Chelsea man avoid a red card will have left Arsenal fans furious after their recent set-back. Dean, though, explained why the two incidents weren’t very similar at all. On commentary, he revealed that the fact that the ball looked to be heading away from goal and towards the touchline meant it wasn’t a red card worthy offence.
“There’s too much doubt involved there. The ball is going towards the assistant referee on the far side. It’s completely different compared to yesterday for me. That’s a correct decision on-field.“
Gary Neville also explained that the presence of another defender nearby, Levi Colwill, made the situation different entirely too and Dean agreed with that sentiment.