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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Tom Cavilla

Granit Xhaka speaks out over Liverpool red card with VAR claim

Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has criticised the use of VAR in matches on the back of his sending off in the Carabao Cup with Liverpool.

The Swiss international was dismissed in the Gunners' semi-final first leg at Anfield last Thursday after bringing down Diogo Jota, who was attempted to control a long ball played forward by Andy Robertson.

Referee Michael Oliver had no doubt in his mind after watching this challenge and issued a red card to Xhaka for his reckless challenge.

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Disciplinary problems are nothing new for Arsenal as a team or Xhaka as an individual, however.

The Gunners have received the most red cards than any other Premier League side (13) since Mikel Arteta's appointment in December 2019, meanwhile Xhaka has been sent for an early bath a total of 12 times throughout his professional career.

Commenting on his latest dismissal, which has ruled him out of Thursday's Carabao Cup semi-final return leg, the experienced midfielder told beIN SPORTS : "It's easy to speak when things are going well.

"Of course, nobody wants to get a red card, be suspended or help the team from only the outside. But I can't change this. This happened, and I'm trying to help the team as much as I can outside the pitch.

"I didn't speak with him [Arteta] about the red card, I never did this before with him as well. It's something I need to be careful about, but this is my game. I am the type of player who is in a lot of fifty-fifty positions, where I like to risk it.

"I think sometimes it is wrong, but when it is going well - no one speaks about it. When it goes wrong, like against Liverpool, people start to speak. What can I do now? We can speak until tomorrow morning about it and talk about how we could change it - or not.

"Of course I wish I could be on the pitch as well, but I'm suspended for two games and I have to take it how it is."

The 29-year-old was also sent off earlier this season in a 5-0 away defeat to Manchester City, which arrived 35 minutes into the match.

Xhaka is of the view that his foul on Jota was more of a punishable offence than his foul at the Etihad, but has called for VAR to be axed regardless of whether the correct decision was made on either occasion.

"This one [Jota] was more of a red card than the one I got against Man City away," he admitted.

"With VAR, everything is more difficult because they are seeing things in slow-motion. In slow-motion, everything looks so hard.

"I wish the referees on the pitch could make the decisions themselves. It is better than the guys watching the game on the TV, because it is totally different," added the former Borussia Monchengladbach man.

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