Joel Matip was selected for the Liverpool team for Sunday afternoon’s 3-0 victory over Brentford at Anfield, but the referee made an odd mistake that ultimately cost him the match.
The defender exercised caution in the 37th minute of play after stopping a Brentford break led by Christian Norgaard. Although Matip appeared to have tripped the Brentford player at first glance, he actually took the ball cleanly.
That was not Craig Pawson’s opinion, however, as he gave the Bees a free kick and gave Matip a yellow card. The Cameroonian threw himself on his knees, questioning the ruling with great abandon, and then got into an intense argument with the referee.
Twitter was used by supporters to express their displeasure with the choice. “Free-kick against Matip AND booked for this,” one person wrote. Fantastic.
Then, another Liverpool supporter was left incensed and stated: “Joel Matip was RAGING over his yellow card, and it’s hard to blame him – it was a ridiculous decision.” Another supporter remarked, “It’s true that officials are terrible people. How is Matip scheduled for that? Strange. It’s not even a violation.
Some were shocked that Matip chose to appear in the book, while others found the defender’s response humorous. “Matip is the funniest player ever, man,” a fan exclaimed. Makes me smile every time.
One more person commented, “Matip’s reactions are hilarious,” and a third added, “How funny was Matip when he got booked earlier by the way, proper lost his rag didn’t he hahahaha.”
Thankfully, neither Liverpool nor Matip will suffer any long-term repercussions from the yellow card. As he took Ibrahima Konate’s position at the center of the Reds’ defense, it was only his seventh start of the year. It was also just his first booking, so he is still a ways from serving a ban.
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