Keith Hackett, the former general manager of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), believes that referee Craig Pawson could have sent off Virgil van Dijk for elbowing Richarlison during Tottenham's League Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool.
The incident occurred when Van Dijk clashed with Richarlison in just the third minute at Anfield, leaving the Spurs player writhing on the pitch clutching his face. Pawson paused play, but didn't consider the incident a foul despite replays showing the Liverpool captain making contact with his opponent's face.
football.london understands that the video assistant referee (VAR), Michael Salisbury, checked and cleared the incident for violent conduct after deeming no error on-field to overturn the decision. During the Sky broadcast of the match, co-commentator Alan Smith acknowledged that it was "not the greatest of challenges" before relaying: "check complete."
Ally McCoist divulged further about the flashpoint during ITV 's coverage. "I don't think there's any doubt about looking at it," he said. "[Van Dijk] raises his arm to hold him off and shrugs him off the challenge.
"Is it a bit aggressive? There's an elbow there - let me tell you that now - there's an elbow in the chin. Maybe just below the chin, but they'll certainly have a look at that. He might just get away with it because it's below his chin."
Hackett also accepted that Liverpool were somewhat fortunate to maintain their full complement of players on the field. Speaking to Football Insider, he said: "There is no doubt that Virgil van Dijk can count himself very, very fortunate to have used arm or elbow against his opponent and come away with no sanction.
"At the very least, this was reckless and should have been a minimum yellow card; it bordered on excessive force. But I think I'd just give him the benefit of the doubt and go yellow - not red."