Former Premier League referee Jeff Winter has weighed in on the debate regarding Andy Robertson’s red card in Liverpool’s draw with Fulham
Former Premier League referee Jeff Winter has weighed in on the debate regarding Andy Robertson’s red card in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Fulham. The Scotland international was sent off after just 17 minutes for denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity on Saturday.
Taking a heavy touch when attempting to cut out a Cottagers pass, the 30-year-old ended up scything down Harry Wilson when attempting to recover. Referee Tony Harrington played advantage as the ball fell to Raul Jimenez, who proceeded to waste the chance to score himself by attempting to lob Alisson Becker.
Harrington then pulled play back to sendRobertson off, with his decision then confirmed after a lengthy VAR check.
While Arne Slot had no complaints about the red card following the match, there has been plenty of debate regarding the decision in the aftermath of Saturday’s match.
Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has led calls suggesting that Robertson did not actually deny a clear goalscoring opportunity, with Wilson taking a heavy touch of his own and Jimenez then actually having the chance on goal.
Meanwhile, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has admitted on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch that he thinks it was the wrong decision to send off Robertson.
Now Winter has offered his own take on the incident and, after taking a bizarre swipe at Gallagher, has added to the confusion by admitting he still cannot decide what should have been the right call to make.
“I’ve done what the referee doesn’t have the chance to do, and what VAR doesn’t have the time to do,” he told Grosvenor Casino. “I’ve watched that Robertson incident over and over again, and I’m still not certain what happened.
“So, it’ll be interesting to see when Mr. Gallagher blurts out the party line from PGMOL. The commentators suggested it was one of those tackles deemed a genuine attempt to play the ball.
“Years ago, when I started refereeing, intent mattered. Every handball and foul had to be intentional. If two players were running full speed and one accidentally clipped the other’s ankle, we’d wave play on.
“Now, intent doesn’t come into it. If a foul is committed, it has to be penalized. So, sometimes I’m left scratching my head.
“He attempted to play the ball, and didn’t intend to foul, but was unlucky. Yet if a tackle brings a player down, it’s a free kick. If it’s excessive or dangerous, it’s a red.
“Some fouls are borderline, and everyone jumps on it, demanding a yellow or red. The infamous “orange card” comes to mind.”
He continued: “The major incident was obviously Robertson’s sending off. There was an appeal about offside in the build-up, but there wasn’t one.
“Then Robertson committed the foul. Commentators often say, “last man, you’re off,” but the law says nothing about the last man – it’s about denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.
“Was the Fulham player running towards goal or cutting across the penalty area? I watched it repeatedly, and it’s hard to say. The ball went across to a Fulham player, who managed a shot that was blocked.
“This incident proves there are never two identical situations in football. I’m glad I’m not refereeing because it was a tough one.
“If I have to watch it half a dozen times and still can’t decide, you probably just have to stick with the referee’s decision.
“Interestingly, the opposing manager didn’t make much of a fuss afterwards, even though the incident likely cost Liverpool the game by reducing them to ten men. If they’d felt strongly, we’d have heard more from the club.
“But the foul happened, Fulham didn’t score from the resulting chance, but their player was arguably heading towards goal after shifting left. I can’t say the referee got it wrong.”
Meanwhile, Winter believes football is at risk of ‘sanitising the game’ if it continues to come down harder and harder on tackling.
“In any game, players are almost scared to tackle now,” he said. “Terms like ‘excessive force,’ ‘intensity,’ and ‘danger to the opponent’ are scrutinized. It’s easy to grasp from a rulebook, but in the heat of battle, it’s a different story.
“We want to eliminate dangerous tackles, but we risk discouraging tackling altogether. Split-second decisions mean even a clean tackle can result in contact. When referees review incidents in slow motion, everything looks worse.
“We need to get serious fouls right, but we risk sanitising the game. Professional football shouldn’t become like walking football, where tackling isn’t allowed. We don’t want that.”