'A few things' - Dermot Gallagher lists reasons why Pascal Gross was not sent off against Liverpool
Dermot Gallagher has given his take on why Pascal Gross was not sent off for Brighton in Sunday's draw against Liverpool.
The Reds fell behind after being caught out by Brighton early in yesterday's 2-2 draw, though they fought back to assume command before half-time. Mohamed Salah finished off a slick team move before sticking in a second from the penalty spot.
But the main moment of controversy - as there always seem to be in Liverpool matches these days - was the decision not to send Seagulls midfielder Gross off for his role in giving away the spot kick.
Catching their hosts sleeping in return, the goal was at Dominik Szoboszlai's mercy to score a second goal. He was hauled to the ground by the German from the collar of his shirt.
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Anthony Taylor awarded the penalty and nothing more. The ECHO understands the Hungarian was not deemed to be travelling towards goal by the officials - and therefore the challenge did not constitute the denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity.
"I think the [reason Gross was not sent off is a] combination of a few things," Gallagher said in response to the incident on Sky Sports' Ref Watch programme. "He is not going directly at the goal which is what they asked for. The ball has run away and I get it because he is pulled back.
"The goalkeeper is also very close, and when you look at the defenders coming round. There are a lot of moving parts, but if you give a yellow card, this debate would be a lot more diluted - people would accept there would be some kind of punishment."
Of course had the
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