What Mark Clattenburg said about refereeing talking point in Liverpool win; it didn’t go to VAR | OneFootball

Mark Clattenburg had his say on one contentious incident from Liverpool’s victory over Inter Milan on Tuesday night.

Both sides came away from the match with grievances over VAR, with Ibrahima Konate having a goal disallowed as Hugo Ekitike was harshly deemed to have deliberately handled the ball in the build-up, with the officials taking a good five minutes to arrive at their final decision.

Then, in the final few minutes, the Reds were awarded a penalty after Alessandro Bastoni was found to have tugged Florian Wirtz’s shirt, which on-field referee Felix Zwayer only saw after consulting the pitchside monitor.

Another flashpoint took place early in the first half whereby Lautaro Martinez went thundering into a challenge which left Andy Robertson needing lengthy treatment, but thankfully the Liverpool left-back was able to carry on playing.

What did Clattenburg say about Martinez’s challenge?

Speaking on co-commentary for Amazon Prime Video Sport, Alan Shearer described it as ‘nasty’ by the Inter captain, although Clattenburg (also on the broadcaster’s match coverage) explained why he thought Zwayer was correct in issuing a yellow card rather than a red.

The ex-Premier League official said  (via Liverpool.com): “It would have been a different type of challenge if he had went in with his studs. He tries to pull away by pulling his legs away, and that’s why he hits him with his knee, even though it still injures the player.

“I think it would have been a different colour – it could have been a red card – if he had went in with his studs, but I agree with a yellow card for this type of challenge.”

Image via @AlexMaxa243710 on X

Was Martinez lucky to avoid a red card?

We sometimes hear pundits and commentators refer to ‘orange card’ incidents (i.e. those where a player is booked for an offence which borders on warranting a dismissal), and Martinez’s lunge on Robertson probably falls into that category.

Clattenburg is correct in saying that the Inter forward led with his shins rather than his studs, but he was still reckless and out of control when he clattered into Robertson, who briefly looked as though his night would be ended prematurely.

Zwayer may have been reluctant to show a red card just 13 minutes into the game unless it were fully warranted, but another official on another night mightn’t have been as lenient towards the Argentine.

To us, it still seems baffling that a reckless challenge like the one from Martinez – which could’ve injured the Liverpool left-back – elicited the same punishment as a momentary bout of dissent from Curtis Jones in the second half.

The Inter captain was perhaps a tad fortunate to escape without a stronger sanction, but thankfully Robertson came away unscathed and – like the rest of his team – put in a strong performance to earn a fully deserved victory for the Reds.

You can watch Slot’s full post-Inter Milan press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: