An angry Roy Hodgson declared himself "absolutely sick" at the direction of modern football after Crystal Palace's cruel defeat by Liverpool as he insisted that he won't miss the game when he retires.
The under-fire former England boss got a much-improved display from his Eagles side at Selhurst Park on Saturday, with substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta winning and scoring a penalty to give them a surprise lead over their below-par title-chasing opponents.
However, an eventful game turned on its head in the space of just 98 seconds when Jordan Ayew brought down Harvey Elliott and received a second yellow card, before Mohamed Salah's deflected 200th Liverpool goal and 150th in the Premier League swiftly levelled the score.
The Reds made the most of their numerical advantage as Elliott arrowed home in stoppage time to send Liverpool top of the Premier League and condemn Palace - who are now battling a selection crisis with Ayew's suspension compounded by new injuries to Sam Johnstone, Jefferson Lerma and Odsonne Edouard - to a dismal run of just one win from their last nine games.
An under-pressure Hodgson was furious after the match, delivering a searingly honest interview with TNT Sports in which he lamented the rules and officiating in football.
"We're talking too much about the referees," the 76-year-old said. "The fact is I'm afraid I've been in football a long time and games like today make me realise that when the day comes to leave it behind, I won't be missing anything."
Hodgson criticised Virgil van Dijk, accusing the Liverpool captain of deliberately kicking the ball against Ayew at a free-kick for the latter's first booking of the afternoon.
"Van Dijk took the opportunity to get him [Ayew] the first yellow card by kicking the ball against him from a few yards away," he said.
"That's very disappointing. I think if you are Liverpool Football Club, you don't need players of Van Dijk's quality and status in the game to try and get a player a yellow card by just kicking the ball against him."
In an extraordinary and candid rant, Hodgson did not hold back in his criticism of the direction of the game when asked what he was most unhappy with.
"The rules. Refereeing and the referee's incentives," he said.
"I'm absolutely sick about the handball interpretations. I'm sick about these yellow cards for time-wasting. I'm sick about player behaviour.
"All through the game, we're trying to do our job. The coaches who set this game up unbelievably well are trying to get a bit of advice out and every time they step forward and get even close to me, the guy is screaming at them to sit down again. I'm sick of those."
