Another error? PL panel: Jota was incorrectly sent off in Liverpool vs Tottenham

  /  autty

The Premier League's Independent Key Match Incidents Panel has reportedly ruled Diogo Jota was wrongly sent off in Liverpool's controversial 2-1 defeat at Tottenham on Saturday.

The Portuguese was shown a red card after picking up two bookings in just over a minute for two fouls on Destiny Udogie.

But according to ESPN, the Premier League panel has since acknowledged Jota's second challenge was not worthy of a yellow card.

The panel voted 3-2 against the booking in its review of the incident.

The adjudicatory body is made of five members, comprising three former players and/coaches, along with one representative each from the Premier League and PGMOL.

'The majority deemed the decision as incorrect as they felt it did not meet the threshold for a yellow card,' the panel said, according to ESPN.

Jota's first booking attracted more scrutiny than his second challenge on Saturday, after Udogie's trailing leg appeared to make contact with his knee.

The panel, however, only analyses the second booking for players sent off for two bookable offences.

Jota's sending off left Liverpool down to nine men after Curtis Jones had previously been shown a red card following a VAR review for his tackle Yves Bissouma.

Referee Simon Hooper had initially shown Jones a yellow for the clumsy challenge but upgraded to a red after reviewing it on the pitchside monitor.

The Reds subsequently appealed the decision but on Wednesday revealed their bid had been unsuccessful and that Jones will serve a three-match ban.

The Premier League panel's admission will do little to placate Jurgen Klopp's fury, with the Liverpool boss left incensed by both red cards and by Luis Diaz's incorrectly disallowed goal.

On Wednesday, Klopp demanded that Liverpool's defeat at Spurs be replayed, saying it would be the ‘right thing’ to do after the incredible VAR howler denied the Reds a goal.

Diaz's strike was disallowed by VAR official Darren England, who wrongly believed the on-field decision had been a goal, so said ‘check complete’ once he ascertained that the Colombia winger was onside.

Instead of a goal being awarded, the match resumed with a free-kick to Spurs.

Referees’ chiefs later admitted to a ‘significant human error’ and released the audio of the conversation between England, Hooper and VAR officials after Liverpool had specifically demanded for the tape to be made public.

‘The audio didn’t change things at all,’ Klopp said of the VAR tape which was made public on Tuesday.

It revealed England and his team quickly realised they had made an error, with the official saying ‘Oh f***’ in exasperation.

Speaking ahead of Liverpool’s Europa League clash with Union Saint-Gilloise on Thursday evening, Klopp said: ‘We need to deal with it in a proper way. The people involved did not do it on purpose.

‘Not as the manager of Liverpool, but more as a football person, the only outcome should be a replay. That’s how it is, probably won’t happen.

'The argument against that will be if we open that gate, everyone will ask for it, but the situation is so unprecedented.’

Related: Liverpool Tottenham Hotspur Klopp Jota
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