A charity that helps to represent referees has called for stronger punishments for players that confront match officials after the incident that took place in the game between Liverpool and Arsenal this weekend, where assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis appeared to elbow Andy Robertson.
In recent weeks, Fulham forward Aleksandar Mitrović was handed an eight-game ban for pushing referee Chris Cavanagh when he lost his head during a game against Manchester United, while Bruno Fernandes escaped retrospective action for contact with assistant Adam Nunn at Anfield.
Now, Ref Support UK, an independent charity that represents the interests of officials, is calling for action to protect referees with its CEO Martin Cassidy suggesting that the Robertson incident was part of a worrying trend.
“The official appears to have been out of order,” Cassidy told The Mirror. “And if it was intentional and it was aggressive then he needs to be banned like any other player — not for more, but the same [length of time]. The learnings here are: what was a player doing going over and manhandling a match official yet again?”
Robertson was left furious by the incident, which Cassidy condemned, with the Liverpool left-back caught by the assistant referee in an action described by former Premier League official Dermot Gallagher as something he had ‘never heard or seen before’.
“Address the result of it, but you have to address the cause of it too,” Cassidy continued. “What caused that elbow to hit him in the face? He grabbed a match official. What happened with Mitrović? He grabbed a match official. What happened with Fernandes? He touched a match official. Don’t touch a match official. It’s not rocket science.
“We’ve called for a two-meter rule. We had this coming out of Covid. It would have been very easy to say: ‘If you come within two meters of a match official, uninvited, in an aggressive manner, you get a yellow card or get sent off.’ There are no boundaries at the moment.
“Money punishment doesn’t work at any level of football. It’s the wrong approach. We need to start deducting points. So if someone is found guilty of abusing a referee, that person’s team loses points. The deterrent will be there.”
A PGMOL statement earlier today read: “PGMOL will not be appointing Constantine Hatzidakis to fixtures in any of the competition it serves whilst The FA investigates the incident involving the assistant referee and Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson at Anfield.”
During the game, the match official’s body confirmed that it would investigate the incident after the game had been completed.
Referee chiefs issue statement after linesman ‘elbowed’ Andy Robertson during Liverpool vs Arsenal
Liverpool players were left incensed at half-time of their match against Arsenal as tensions were running high with Andy Robertson accusing the linesman of “elbowing” him. Liverpool looked to be dead and buried inside the first half an hour with Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus giving Arsenal a two-goal lead.
QBut the game quickly livened up after a coming together between Trent Alexander-Arnold and Granit Xhaka with the hosts using the increased atmosphere to raise their levels. Mohamed Salah halved the deficit just before the break with tackles soon flying in from both sets of players.
The referee’s whistle then brought an end to the first half with both players clearly still riled up as they walked off the pitch. But there was confusion when Liverpool players soon surrounded linesman Constantine Hatzidakis with referee Paul Tierney brandishing a yellow card.
Liverpool players were furious with Jordan Henderson leading the protests and it wasn’t immediately clear what happened until Jamie Carragher mentioned on commentary that the linesman had elbowed Robertson.
It wasn’t until Sky Sports showed replays of the incident that confirmed what Carragher had said with Hatzidakis seen raising his arm to Robertson’s face. Sky Sports reporter Geoff Shreeves caught the aftermath of the incident down the tunnel.
The PGMOL have stated they are aware of the incident involving Constantine Hatzidakis and Andy Robertson and will review the matter once Liverpool’s clash with Arsenal has finished.
A statement from the organisation read: “PGMOL is aware of an incident involving assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis and Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson at half-time during the Liverpool v Arsenal fixture at Anfield. We will review the matter in full once the game has concluded.”
Linesman Hatzidakis was heading towards referee Paul Tierney just after he had blown the half-time whistle, carrying the ball with him. Reds star Robertson approached Hatzidakis and appeared to grab the official as he walked across the pitch.
Linesman Hatzidakis was heading towards referee Paul Tierney just after he had blown the half-time whistle, carrying the ball with him. Reds star Robertson approached Hatzidakis and appeared to grab the official as he walked across the pitch.
Hatzidakis reacted angrily to that though and moved his arm back in what appeared to an elbow towards Robertson’s face. The Scotland captain was left furious, with Liverpool players surrounding the trio of match officials as they attempted to leave the pitch.
Robertson, Diogo Jota and Reds skipper Jordan Henderson remonstrated with Hatzidakis and Tierney as they left the pitch. The Liverpool left-back was then booked by Tierney, to the anger of Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Henderson and Jota.
Eventually, the four were led away by a member of Liverpool’s coaching staff. Liverpool legend and Sky co-commentator Jamie Carragher gave the first indication of what had happened, tweeting: “Linesman elbow on Robertson!”
According to Sky Sports reporter Geoff Shreeves, Robertson was furious as he headed down the tunnel. He claimed the Scot said: “he’s just elbowed me in the throat, the linesman has elbowed me in the throat.
While Robertson appeared to be the victim of the incident, Roy Keane blasted the Liverpool star at half-time. He accused the left-back of being a “big baby”.
“Do you know what? Does he grab the linesman first? I’m not sure, but Robertson is then complaining. He should be more worried about his defending. Do you know what he is, that Robertson?” Keane told Sky Sports.