Hero Liverpool trio gobsmacked by refereeing standards in Brighton win

Liverpool legend John Aldridge claims Fernando Torres and Fabio Aurelio agreed with him about the horrible display from David Coote

Fernando Torres and Fabio Aurelio shared the sentiments with Liverpool legend John Aldridge over the poor refereeing from David Coote. Liverpool beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 at Anfield on Sunday despite another game riddled with poor refereeing decisions.

Coote made numerous late calls and brandished disciplinary cards that baffled the home crowd throughout the game. The game also involved a controversial penalty decision and a close VAR call for offside for a Luis Diaz goal.

Coote rejected a penalty when Pervis Estupinan pulled Darwin Nunez back blatantly inside Brighton’s box. Moments later, he brandished a yellow card for Alexis Mac Allister after he barely touched Simon Adingra on the shoulder.

Writing in his special column with the Liverpool Echo, Aldridge asked Torres and Aurelio about the referee’s performance. He wrote:

“I asked Fernando Torres and Fabio Aurelio, who were at the game. I asked them, ‘What do you think of the referee?’ They said, ‘F**king hell,’ in Spanish. Unbelievably bad. And they’re not biased like I can be. I asked them just for their honest opinion and they couldn’t believe how bad he was, so that tells you.”

Liverpool have suffered from poor officiating throughout this season, costing them several points in the Premier League. Nevertheless, the Reds retained the top spot in the Premier League table after securing the victory against Brighton.

The referees have disallowed three blatant handball decisions for a penalty in three big draws for the Reds this season. Liverpool drew Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Manchester United at Anfield and Arsenal at Anfield in the games involving those handballs.

Furthermore, official Michael Oliver denied the Reds a late penalty against Manchester City for a blatant high-boot foul. Jeremy Doku caught Mac Allister in a late high-boot challenge within the penalty box in the draw against Man City.

Earlier this season, Tottenham Hotspur beat Liverpool in a game that involved two controversial red cards for the Reds players. The game is infamous for a VAR decision that wrongly disallowed a legitimate opening Liverpool goal from Diaz.

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Liverpool face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday in a crucial Premier League clash with Anthony Taylor in charge. Taylor is a Manchester-based referee with a horribly bias record against Liverpool and the appointment has faced scrutiny from the fans.