Diogo Jota was fortunate not to be sent off for Liverpool against West Ham United on Saturday evening.
That was the opinion of West Ham boss David Moyes, speaking to his club’s official website.
Jota, a £45 million signing by Liverpool in 2020, came off the bench with 11 minutes remaining to replace a tiring Mohamed Salah.
However, the Portugal international found himself in hot water after 88 minutes for trudging on the back of Pablo Fornals’s leg – a foul which earned him a yellow card.
But the West Ham manager feels that it was deserving of an immediate sending off.
He told the Hammers’ website: “I think Diogo Jota’s challenge at the end is a red card. I thought that at the time, and I didn’t think today things went for us as well as they should have done from the officials.”
Nasty challenge
It was certainly a grisly looking tackle on the Spaniard by the Liverpool attacker.
However, it was one without malice and seemed entirely accidental, which ought to lessen Moyes’s case for a straight red card.
Television replays indicate that the Reds attacker was playing the ball and although he made contact with the Irons player, establishing intent is vital.
Of course, some players still receive dismissals for accidental challenges, but this didn’t seem to damage Fornals enough to take it to that level, even though it could’ve potentially injured him.
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