John Aldridge has taken to Twitter to rage over the performance of referee Martin Atkinson in Everton and Tottenham’s 1-1 draw on Sunday, claiming that Liverpool fans have known for ages just how bad he is.
Atkinson sent off Heung-min Son in the second half after a foul on Andre Gomes led to the Everton midfielder suffering a serious ankle injury as he landed awkwardly on the ground.
That has sparked a debate about whether the severity of injuries should sway a referee’s decision into sending a player off and ex-Liverpool man Aldridge clearly believes that Atkinson was in the wrong.
“Watched the Everton v Spurs game, 100% shows what we LFC fans have known for ages,” said Aldridge via his personal Twitter account on Sunday night.
“Martin Atkinson the referee is not good enough. Inept! Shocking! Words fail me. Feel for Gomes and also for Son!
“That incident summed him up.”
Watched the Everton v Spurs game !!100% shows what we LFC fans have known for ages!!Martin Atkinson the referee is NOT good enough INEPT!Shocking !words fail me.Feel for Gomes and also for Son!!that incident summed him up.
— John Aldridge (@Realaldo474) November 3, 2019
OPINION
Atkinson has been the bane of Liverpool fans for a few weeks now. Atkinson was in charge of VAR when the Reds beat Aston Villa 2-1 on Saturday, in a game that saw Roberto Firmino have a goal chalked off for his armpit being offside. Atkinson was also in the spotlight when Liverpool drew 1-1 against Manchester United at Old Trafford last month. Referees are really under the microscope this season due to the introduction of VAR in the Premier League. It has made some decisions very well and on the whole, there have perhaps been more good come from it than bad, but the bad calls are started to grab headlines a lot of the time now. Offside is something that is black and white but no one foresaw there being such scrutiny when it comes to calls like the Firmino one on Saturday. That is something that needs to be looked at by the FA and the Premier League. If you cannot see the offside with the naked eye on a replay, then let the on-pitch decision stand.
