Liverpool face more VAR tension as Jota’s wife goes on ‘rigged’ clown rampage
Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Liverpool – The Verdict
Liverpool could find themselves entrenched in more trouble with the Professional Game Match Officials’ League (PGMOL), after the wife of Diogo Jota criticised officials on social media for sending off her husband against Tottenham. The Premier League club have already taken PGMOL to task over the huge controversy that engulfed their 2-1 defeat on Saturday, with Luis Diaz’s goal incorrectly ruled out for offside. But the Merseyside club are facing more tension over Jota’s dismissal after comments from his wife.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were already down to 10 men when Jota was brought on as a half-time substitute to replace the injured Cody Gakpo. However, just 23 minutes later, the Portuguese winger found himself joining Curtis Jones in the dressing room for an early bath after referee Simon Hooper sent him off.
Jota earned himself two yellow cards in quick succession for two separate incidents. The 26-year-old was cautioned after he was adjudged to have clipped Spurs full-back Destiny Udogie when running at full pace, although replays later appeared to show his knee inadvertently caught the Italian’s foot and Udogie lost his balance.
There could be little complaint about the nature of the second yellow card, though, when Jota mistimed his rash slide tackle – again on Udogie – and caught him on the foot.
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Referee Hooper had little option at that point but to show him a second yellow card and subsequent red, despite Jota’s clear attempts to plead that he “didn’t touch him”.
Watching from afar, Jota’s wife, Rute Cardoso, was left fuming with the decision and she made her feelings clear with an angry post on her Instagram account. In response to Hooper’s decision to dismiss her husband, Cardoso shared a video clip to her 36,000 followers on her story of Jota’s first foul on Destiny Udogie.
In reposting the footage from the match, she wrote the caption: “This was given as a yellow card”, with a large clown emoji included to highlight her disapproval. She was also unhappy with the decision to rule out Diaz’s goal as the visitors’ day went from bad to worse.
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Liverpool had already felt aggrieved when Diaz’s goal was disallowed, despite the Colombian being half a yard onside according to the replays. According to PGMOL, a ‘significant human error’ from VAR official Darren England resulted in the on-pitch decision being allowed to stand, despite the obvious error.
But Jota’s sending off was the icing on the cake for Klopp’s side. With nine men, Liverpool could not hold out for the point despite their valiant defensive efforts as Joel Matip diverted into his own net to condemn them to a last-gasp defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The club are already facing two FA charges and a fine. But they will now lose Jota to a one-match suspension for his dismissal, which rules him out of their next game against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road.
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