Liverpool's players could face the threat of FA action after surrounding the referee during their defeat at Manchester City, according to a former referee.
The Reds were well beaten at the Etihad, losing 4-1 to the defending champions, which dented their own top four hopes. Mohamed Salah had put the visitors 1-0 up as they looked to cause something of an upset given their inconsistent form this season.
City equalised shortly after, but with the game in the balance Rodri, who had been booked for a cynical foul as Liverpool attempted to break, repeated the trick just minutes later. The Liverpool players were aware a second yellow could turn the tide in their favour and several of them ran to make their point to referee Simon Hooper.
He waved them away and the Spanish midfielder escaped any further punishment and remained on the field before his side went on to score three goals in the second-half. Former referee Mark Hasley admitted that the City star was fortunate to avoid a booking, but was less than impressed with the reaction from the Reds.
He told The Sun : "Rodri can count himself lucky Simon Hooper chose to referee the game in a lenient way because on another day his first half challenge on Cody Gakpo could have resulted in him getting a second yellow card for denying a promising attack."
He also added on the reaction: "The players surrounded the referee and that’s not something we want to see."
City and Arsenal, who were involved in a fiery clash earlier this season, both found themselves reprimanded by the FA as they copped fines for failing to control their players.
It was only in February that Liverpool copped the same charge from the FA during a Merseyside derby at Anfield. The Reds won 2-0, but a spotlight was shone on the conduct of both sets of players late in the contest, which begun as Jordan Pickford and Andy Robertson came to blows.
Jurgen Klopp admitted after the match on Saturday that the decision probably should've gone his side's way, but wasn't sure it would've changed the result such was the gulf between the teams. "I didn’t see good enough. I realised the situation but could he have got a second yellow? Yes, probably. He will not get it now. And yeah I’m not sure we would have won today against ten men," he said.
The defeat means Liverpool have now lost consecutive games in the league following their reverse against Bournemouth before the international break. It saw them slip down to eighth with Manchester United in fourth now eight points clear with a spot in next season's Champions League looking increasingly unlikely.
