Jamie Carragher has heavily criticised Alexis Mac Allister following an incident in Liverpool's match against Arsenal. The former defender called the Argentine's behaviour a "shame" and insisted that such attempts to earn a red card must stop.
Initially, Mac Allister fouled Martin Ødegaard, after which he shouted something at the Arsenal captain, who was lying on the ground.
Then Jurriën Timber approached the Argentine, followed by Noni Madueke's intervention.
Mac Allister and Madueke clashed heads, after which the Liverpool midfielder fell sharply to the ground.
The VAR checked the incident for a long time, but no red card was shown. Both Timber and Mac Allister received yellow cards.
Carragher was pleased with the referee's decision:
"I’m very glad he wasn’t sent off. We need to be tougher and say outright: 'This is a shame'. This has to stop; it’s just ridiculous. I can’t stand it.
All these 'head-to-head' incidents... If someone really pulls their head back and butts an opponent – of course that’s a red card. But when players just clash heads and one slightly touches the other, and they fall down and get a sending off for that – that is absurd.
In the Premier League, fans need to start criticising our own players for this kind of behaviour.
The former Liverpool defender emphasised that he would not justify Mac Allister simply because of his club affiliation:
"I’m a Liverpool fan, and what Mac Allister did is just ridiculous. This has to stop.
Players are trying to gain an advantage because they know that such incidents can get a red card now.
Whether it’s Howard Webb, the Premier League, or the coaches themselves – we need to get it together and stop issuing red cards for such nonsense.
Another controversial moment occurred earlier when Timber held Alexander Isak's shirt in the penalty area during a challenge for a high ball.
No penalty was awarded, and the VAR did not intervene.
After the match, Andoni Iraola described this incident as an obvious penalty and added that Isak might have benefited from going down more dramatically – much like Mac Allister did later.
