How was that not a foul and a red card?! FIFA has just delivered some very disappointing news for the officials and referees of the Liverpool vs Fulham match, resulting in them losing their jobs.

Mike Dean felt that Liverpool was the victim of a significant refereeing error early in their match against Fulham today.

Issa Diop was shown a yellow card for a dangerous challenge on Andy Robertson (who was later sent off for a last-man foul), but this was overshadowed by a more concerning tackle just moments later.

Andreas Pereira fouled Ryan Gravenberch by catching him on the back of the ankle as the Liverpool midfielder tried to advance. Pereira received a booking from Tony Harrington, but replays showed that the Brazilian was lucky to escape with such a mild punishment.

Dean: Pereira should have been sent off

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday, Dean firmly stated that Pereira should have been red-carded for his challenge on Gravenberch.

The former Premier League referee explained: “Pereira caught Gravenberch on the top of his Achilles and scraped down. He’s nowhere near the ball. He knew exactly what he was doing. It’s 100% a red card.”

Dean’s frustration was understandable, as Pereira’s tackle was reckless and had the potential to cause serious injury, though fortunately, Gravenberch was unharmed.

To make matters worse for Liverpool, Pereira scored the opening goal just minutes later, connecting with a cross from Antonee Robinson and sending it into the net off a slight deflection from the unlucky Robertson.

Liverpool could have defended the goal much more effectively, as they were sluggish in the opening 30 minutes, but it was especially frustrating that the player responsible for Fulham’s early lead should not have even been on the pitch at that moment.

Adding to Liverpool’s woes, Robertson’s red card came at a time when Kostas Tsimikas was still unavailable, leaving manager Arne Slot without a senior left-back for the remainder of the match and potentially for the next three games.

Once again, a promising Premier League encounter was overshadowed by referee errors, ensuring that the officials, rather than the players, would dominate the post-match conversation.