Alan Brazil that Liverpool attacker Mo Salah should have been sent off in the 2-0 win over Porto on Tuesday night.
He thought that the 26-year-old was very “fortunate” not to be given the red card for a challenge on a Porto player in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, calling him “assassin-like” when he went in for the tackle.
Brazil thinks that some astonishing decisions have ended up going in Liverpool’s favour over the years, and admits that the Anfield crowd put a lot of pressure on the referee.
“Salah was very, very fortunate,” he said on ‘Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast‘ on talkSPORT.
“That’s a red card in today’s game. You know when you go ‘oohh’ – you, know, he was just very assassin-like.
“If you go back through time, Liverpool, at Anfield, have had some incredible decisions. But the crowd do put referees under pressure.”
"Mo Salah was very, very fortunate… it's a red card in today's game."
"If you go back through time #LFC get some incredible decisions at Anfield."
Alan Brazil tells @TheDavidSeaman & @Laura_Woodsy that Mo Salah should have been sent off last night ?
Agree? ? pic.twitter.com/e3pWBRhOty
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) April 10, 2019
OPINION
Brazil is absolutely spot on here – there is no doubt that Salah should have been sent off for the challenge he made. If he had done it anywhere other than Anfield, then would the decision to keep him on the pitch be any different? Perhaps not, as like Brazil pointed out, Liverpool have had some incredible decisions made on their home turf over the years, and this could be no different. The course of the game could have changed if the Reds had one of their key players sent off, but they ended up winning comfortably with two goals from Roberto Firmino and Naby Keita. It looks like Liverpool did have some luck though, as most players would have been given their marching orders if they had committed a challenge like Salah did on Tuesday. He was very fortunate, as are Liverpool. They do not have Salah ruled out for the second leg, something which would have hampered their chances of getting to the semi-finals.
