‘He Pushes Him’ – Pundit Slams Refereeing Missed Ibrahima Konate Foul on Bradley Barcola | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain had several opportunities but couldn’t convert, losing 1-0 to Liverpool on Wednesday night at Parc des Princes in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 matchup.

The only goal came late in the second half, but the most debated moment of the match happened midway through the first. Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate brought down Bradley Barcola.

VAR reviewed the play to see if it warranted a red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity, but after the check, the referee decided to let play continue.

RMC Sport pundit Jérôme Rothen hits at Referee, VAR decision

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Jérôme Rothen felt the refereeing was subpar during PSG’s 1-0 loss to Liverpool in Wednesday’s Champions League round of 16 first leg. He argued that Konate fouled Barcola and should have been shown a red card and added that the call was a “huge mistake.“

“Barcola cuts off Konate’s run well, and he can’t do anything anymore,” Rothen said Thursday on his show “Rothen s’enflamme“ (h/t RMC Sport). “There’s a contact at the top with the elbow. Konate presses well. He says he’s not using force. But it doesn’t matter! He pushes him. When the player is in full motion, even a slight contact is enough to destabilize him.

“How does the referee not realize this in real-time? That’s the first problem. We’re in the Round of 16 of the Champions League, and typically, you have top officials at this level.

“It’s a huge mistake by the referee. And then what’s the VAR doing? What are they doing? How can they explain to us that there’s no foul and no red card? This is no longer possible; it’s bad faith.”

This loss is PSG’s first since November when they were beaten by Bayern Munich. Luis Enrique and his team must regroup and try to turn things around at Anfield.