Liverpool escaped a possible red card for Trey Nyoni against Arsenal, says Keith Hackett
Former Professional Game Match Officials Limited chief executive Keith Hackett said Liverpool were fortunate that midfielder Trey Nyoni was not sent off in their defeat to Arsenal on Sunday. He felt Nyoni’s early challenge on Martin Ødegaard warranted at least a yellow card and might have resulted in a red in other circumstances.
Keith Hackett, former chief executive of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited, felt Liverpool were fortunate that midfielder Trey Nyoni was not sent off in their defeat to Arsenal on Sunday. He considered Nyoni’s challenge on Martin Ødegaard early in the match worthy of at least a yellow card, and said it might have led to a sending-off in other circumstances.
The challenge caught Ødegaard on the Achilles tendon during the first minute. Nyoni was not booked, and he also escaped a yellow card after a later foul on Kai Havertz. Hackett described the first challenge as reckless and said its early timing may have contributed to the referee not showing a red card.
The report noted that Nyoni was making his first Premier League start and was substituted in the 59th minute. It also stressed that, in the report writer’s view, the debate over a penalty not being awarded to Liverpool after Jurrien Timber pulled Alexander Isak’s shirt did not change the fact that Nyoni escaped punishment for the incident involving Ødegaard.