Arsene Wenger claims Fabinho was guilty of cheating after Alexis Sanchez was sent off for catching the Brazilian with a high challenge.
The Inter Milan forward was given his marching orders after picking up two yellow cards, the second for a tackle on the Liverpool midfielder as the Italians were knocked out of the Champions League.
It came at the worst possible time for the visitors, moments after Lautaro Martinez's stunning opener, completely derailing any momentum Inter had as the second leg of the last 16 tie finished 1-0 with the Reds progressing to the quarter-finals.
But there was plenty of controversy surrounding Sanchez's red card as the Chilean clearly made contact with the ball first.
And Wenger, Sanchez's former boss at Arsenal, has hit out at Fabinho for simulation as he jumped straight to his feet when the card was shown to the Chilean.
Should Alexis Sanchez have been sent off? Comment below
"He rode the line between cheating and being clever," Wenger told beIN Sports. "Fabinho on this foul he was on the other side, he was cheating, he made more of it.
"Maybe he had pain and he was touched by Sanchez. You cannot say it was completely fake. But maybe he could have got up quicker.
"It’s one of these fouls…when it’s one of your players, you say it’s clever.
"When you are completely neutral like we are supposed to be, you would say he could have made less of it, but he touched him well, you cannot say he faked it.
"But he didn’t want to hurt him, he played first the ball."
Sanchez easily could have been sent off for his high challenge on Thiago in the first half, however, but was only given a yellow.
Rio Ferdinand, who was in the BT Studio for the game, felt the second booking was a tad harsh on Sanchez considering he got the ball first.
"I think he’s won the ball. You’re telling me he shouldn’t go to win that ball?" Ferdinand asked.
"It’s stupid that he’s given the ref an opportunity to make a decision. But I still think it’s harsh to give a yellow card. It’s a foul in today’s game, but I think it’s harsh to give a yellow card."
Thierry Henry echoed those sentiments, telling CBS Sports: “I want to talk about the second yellow of Sanchez. If you have played football, you know that’s never a yellow.
“The first one (on Thiago), with the new rules that we have seen, is late. Way late. Foot on the knee. I could have maybe understood if it could have been an orange-red.
“But that second yellow, if you have played football. What is he supposed to do?
“Obviously, your foot is going to go up because you are kicking the ball away. We have seen the play here. Full speed. You don’t have time to take your leg away by kicking the ball, it’s impossible.”
