The FA will take no further action against assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis after investigating an alleged elbow on Liverpool left-back Andrew Robertson at half-time of last weekend’s Premier League clash between the Reds and Arsenal at Anfield.
Hatzidakis will now return to officiating duties, having been withdrawn by refereeing body PGMOL while the investigation from the FA was ongoing. That investigation has now been closed.
“We have thoroughly reviewed all of the evidence in relation to the recent incident at Anfield involving the Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson and match official Constantine Hatzidakis, and we will be taking no further action,” an FA spokesperson said.
“Our comprehensive process involved reviewing detailed statements from Liverpool and PGMOL, as well as multiple angles of video footage, in relation to both the incident and its surrounding circumstances.”
The flashpoint came as both teams and the officials were leaving the Anfield pitch for the half-time interval. Robertson seemed to put his hand on Hatzidakis, who appeared to raise his arm and catch the Scotland international in response.
In a statement, Hatzidakis himself said, “I fully assisted The FA with their investigation and have discussed the matter directly with Andy Robertson during an open and positive conversation. It was certainly not my intention to make any contact with Andy as I pulled my arm away from him and for that I have apologised. I look forward to returning to officiating matches.”
“that’s just going to upset everyone”- insider drops interesting claim on Mount to Liverpool
Liverpool are reportedly showing a strong interest in the Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount ahead of the summer window, but he could still stay at Stamford Bridge.
Will Mason Mount leave Chelsea?
The future of the England midfielder is being speculated considerably ahead of the summer transfer window with his contract situation unclear.
It is believed talks over a potential new deal to extend his stay in west London have hit an impasse leaving him potentially open to a move in the summer.
And one of the club’s believed to be interested in possibly taking him away from Chelsea is Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool as they aim to bolster their midfield over the coming months.
The Merseysiders have already been hit with a summer transfer blow over recent days with reports issuing their fans a crushing blow in the race for Jude Bellingham.
Despite being one of the main teams in the pursuit of the midfielder, it is now believed the Reds have pulled out of the race with the finances involved too high for them to compete.
And speaking on the Chasing Green Arrow show, insider Dean Jones has issued his expectation for the £80k-per-week midfielder to remain at the Bridge:
(27:55) “I’m not convinced of that because I think he’ll, personally, end up staying at Chelsea. I don’t think the club can allow for something like that to happen.
“Things have already been bad enough they’ve made enough bad decisions in the last seven months that they can’t allow one of their homegrown players to go and join a rival. That’s just going to upset everybody.”
Should Liverpool go all out for Mount?
It has been a difficult season for both Chelsea and Liverpool compared to their usual high standards, and a player who has also struggled is Mount.
The 24-year-old has only been able to provide a mere three goals and two assists in the Premier League this season, which is massively down on his return of 11 goals and 10 assists last season.
Last season, Statman Dave took to Twitter to hail Mount as a “superstar” and he was certainly showing that type of form with over 4.5 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes (via Fbref).
That figure has reduced dramatically this season with Mount offering a career-low 3.09 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes this term.
It is apparent there is clearly a very talented player in the England midfielder, however, it could be seen as a risk if Liverpool were to spend fairly significantly on Mount.
The majority of Mount’s success for the Blues has come from the attacking midfield role and it would be interesting to see if he could flourish in Klopp’s system.
Klopp has typically played with a 4-3-3 formation at Liverpool so it could leave potential question marks over whether Mount’s attacking nature could potentially be reined back across a flat three-man midfield