Referee accused of turning a blind eye to Aleksandar Mitrovic’s dive in Liverpool’s draw against Fulham
Aleksandar Mitrovic has been accused of going down too easily following a Virgil van Dijk tackle which led to a penalty and eventually a goal for Fulham against Liverpool.
The Reds had a tough time at Craven Cottage, in a 2-2 draw with Mitrovic scoring both of Fulham’s goals. Goals from Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez fetched Liverpool a point, but it didn’t come easy.
One of the commentators on the game, Andy Townsend, speaking to Talksport (h/t Liverpool Echo), said “Mitrovic went down a little too easy”.
“I didn’t see a lot of contact and if there’s no contract you can’t give it. It looks like a dive to me. He hasn’t touched him.”
In a game that was tough for our midfield, goals for either side were hard to come by. Fulham scored the opener from a cross directed towards Mitrovic who was left unattended at the back post by Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Darwin Nunez’s substitution changed the dynamics of the game, as he levelled the score soon after coming on. Mo Salah scored the second goal for Liverpool after a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold saw a loose touch from Nunez in the box for the Egyptian to latch onto.
Regardless, a dive claim should not be an excuse to hide behind as the team was not at their usual level, and clearly, our midfield was not on song. All things considered, Liverpool weren’t on the mark.
By all means, this would not be the way Liverpool would have wanted to start their league campaign. With a long season ahead, Liverpool would want to forget this tough day’s work and focus on the rest of the season.
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Mitrovic, in all fairness, went down easy. The contact may have been there but it was surely light – perhaps not enough for the referees to overturn the original call. Regardless, it was a lousy outstretched leg from the Dutchman that put us in that situation.
Fulham, all in all, had a fairly decent game and it gives Liverpool a lot to learn from. As for Van Dijk, he should be able to brush this off and move on. One of the best defenders in the world, it would be unlike him if such a mistake was to be repeated again.
