Liverpool boss praises 'very sensible' referee after players avoid punishment for physical retaliation
The Evening Standard's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Brendan Rodgers praised the refereeing performance during his side’s 4-1 win over Swansea after both Raheem Sterling and Jonjo Shelvey avoided punishment for lashing out at opponents.
Shelvey swung out an arm that landed in Emre Can’s face just before half-time whilst Sterling slapped defender Federico Fernandez after the latter had forcefully challenged him in the 80th minute. Neither player was punished by referee Andre Marriner, who gave no indication that he had seen either incident.
Rodgers defended his forward in an interview with Sky Sports in which he said the referee saw the incidents for what they were. He added: “The centre-half [Fernandez] and Raheem were at it all night. I think the referee dealt well with it. You can make more of them than what they are and I thought the referee was very sensible.”
Liverpool v Swansea - player ratings
The Liverpool manager also defended former Anfield player Shelvey, claiming his hit on Can was “not intentional”. Shelvey had previously been warned by Swansea manager Garry Monk that he needed to “wise up” after picking up his seventh yellow card of the season on Boxing Day.
Disciplinary incidents did not sour Rodgers’ feelings after his side put together one of their best performances this season against a side that had been two places above them before kick-off.
He said: “It was an outstanding performance against a very good side… a real dominant performance. It’s something we’ve been searching for all season.”
