Liverpool were not happy that Ollie Watkins was not sent off in their Premier League meeting at Villa Park on Friday night.
The Reds failed to win again and could now end the weekend just one point above sixth-place Bournemouth going into the final day.
Villa ended up dominating, and Ollie Watkins was their star man. Liverpool called for the striker to be shown a second yellow card in the tie, but Mark Clattenburg thinks that would have been harsh.
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Sending off Ollie Watkins vs Liverpool would have been ‘harsh’
The Englishman was shown his first yellow card late in the first half when the offside flag was already up, and he poked the ball into the back of the Liverpool net.
Then, Watkins was played through in the 55th minute of the tie, but was already in the Reds’ half and beyond Ibrahima Konate when his teammate made the pass.
He went on to carry the ball across the majority of the Reds’ side before scoring after the offside flag had gone up.
According to Sky Sports: “Liverpool are not happy that Ollie Watkins was not sent off before his goal.
“The Villa striker broke clear when clearly offside. The referee’s whistle went but Watkins played on and put it in the net. Liverpool feel Watkins should have been sent off for a second booking.”
However, speaking exclusively to Rousing The Kop, ex-Premier League referee Clattenburg suggested a sending off would have been harsh.
He said: “You cannot criticise Ollie Watkins when scoring a goal after being flagged offside. The introduction of VAR allows the referee to delay the whistle and allow the attacking phase to be completed.
“Therefore, it would be harsh to red card Watkins for two yellow cards for this type of offence and it’s not in line with the spirit of the game.”
Jamie Carragher shared a similar verdict after hearing Liverpool were complaining that the striker wasn’t booked again.
Speaking live on Sky Sports during the game, he said: “I hope Liverpool aren’t serious that Watkins should be sent off.
“It’s difficult to argue that he knew he was offside.”
Watkins went on to score minutes after his second offside goal, before killing the game off with another goal in the 72nd minute.
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