Liverpool: £160k-a-week star 'to blame' for shock incident at Anfield

Posted Tuesday, April 11, 2023 by givemesport.com

Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson played a big part in the controversy against Arsenal, where a linesman was adjudged to have thrown an elbow, journalist Dean Jones has told GIVEMESPORT.

The 29-year-old was involved in an incident with an official during their 2-2 draw with Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Liverpool news - Andrew Robertson

The assistant referee in question, Constantine Hatzidakis, was accused of throwing an elbow in the direction of Robertson during the half-time break at Anfield.

The Scottish defender was given a yellow card for his role in the incident, and the official could now face punishment for what happened with Robertson.

Now, Hatzidakis has been removed from duty whilst the PGMOL conduct an investigation, according to Sky News.

The report also contains a statement from the PGMOL which says: "PGMOL will not be appointing Constantine Hatzidakis to fixtures in any of the competitions it serves whilst the FA (Football Association) investigates the incident involving the assistant referee and Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson at Anfield."

What has Jones said about the incident?

Jones has suggested that Robertson is partly to blame for the incident and he doesn't expect Hatzidakais to be punished.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said: "I don't think Robertson should have his hands on the linesman, I think that's ultimately where it comes from. If you were to look at it from one perspective, it looks like the linesman has elbowed him, but it looks to me that Robertson has put his arm on the official, and the official has gone to shrug him off. As a result, he's hit him in the face with his elbow.

"Now, there's a clear message being sent home at the moment that you can't put your hand on officials, so it's probably come in that moment that the official is just annoyed that he's been touched by Robertson, which he's not allowed to do.

"That's why there's been such a big movement to get him off of him. I highly doubt that an official was going out with any intent to elbow a player. It's going to make headlines because we've never seen anything like this before. I'll be amazed if he got punished for this."

Should the referee be punished?

It's a difficult situation. Robertson, who earns £160k-a-week at Liverpool, is a fiery character who has let his emotions get the better of him by approaching the linesman.

There appears to be an attempt from officials to clamp down on players getting too up close and personal with them, but the linesman probably shouldn't have reacted how he did.

It's not an incident you like to see in football and both parties involved are partly to blame.