Bournemouth boss gives verdict on three controversial decisions during Liverpool loss

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola reckons that Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister was unlucky to be sent off in Saturday’s clash.

The Reds earned a 3-1 victory at Anfield but it came at a price. Mac Allister was given a straight red card in the 58th minute and must now serve a three-match ban.

Certainly, it was a shock when referee Thomas Brammall dismissed Mac Allister for his foul on Bournemouth’s Ryan Christie. The Argentina midfielder prevented a Cherries breakaway yet did not tackle with any excessive force.

And speaking to the BBC, Iraola has admitted he did not think the challenge deserved a red card. He said: “I don’t know. In real life, it did not look like a red card.”

Luis Diaz, Mo Salah and Diogo Jota were all on target to earn Liverpool their first victory of the 2023-24 Premier League season. But the Reds were forced to battle back from behind after a woeful start. Jaidon Anthony had a goal disallowed for offside inside the first minute but Jurgen Klopp’s men failed to heed that warning and Antoine Semenyo broke the deadlock just two minutes later.

Then Alisson Becker was then slightly fortunate to not be sent off after he took a heavy touch outside his own box and brought down Anthony. However, the Liverpool keeper escaped with a yellow card.

After Diaz’s equaliser, Liverpool were given a golden chance to take the lead after Dominik Szoboszlai was adjudged to have been felled inside the Bournemouth area by Joe Rothwell. Salah saw his penalty saved by Bournemouth keeper Neto but scored from the rebound.

Iraloa felt that the decision to award a spot-kick was ‘soft’ but did not remonstrate Alisson staying on the pitch. Speaking at his post-match press conference, he said: “I think it’s a very very soft penalty. There’s contact, it’s a penalty I don’t think once the referee whistles that VAR is going to come in because even if it’s very light, there is contact. Neto saved the penalty, we were unlucky the ball went to Salah and it’s 2-1.

“For me, the red card was kind of orange, this situation [Alisson] was kind of orange. It’s difficult in this situation, I understand the referee’s decisions because they were not easy decisions.”