Tottenham interim manager Ryan Mason was left furious by referee Paul Tierney’s decision not to send Diogo Jota off minutes before his 4-3 winner.
The Reds were holding a nervy 3-2 lead at Anfield when Jota and Spurs midfielder Oliver Skipp both challenged for the ball.
Jota’s high foot collided with Skipp’s face, leaving the Englishman requiring treatment and the game taking a lengthy pause.
The No. 20 was booked, and upon the resumption of play he went on to score a late winner, 99 seconds after Richarlison thought he had ensured a share of the points.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Mason argued that Tierney’s decision to only book Jota had “decided the game.”
“I’d like an explanation. I’d like to understand why it wasn’t,” he told reporters.
“I can understand sometimes referees and officials on the pitch missing it, even though my feeling at the moment was an instant red card.
“When your foot and your studs are showing five-and-a-half feet in the air and you make contact with a player’s head, draw blood and create a gash, I think it ticks all the boxes.
“But probably more so an experienced referee in the VAR room, you want him to help the official on the pitch in that moment.
“Listen, it’s decided the game. That player on the pitch shouldn’t have been on there at the end, in my opinion and I’m pretty sure most football peoples’ opinions.”
Asked if he felt Anfield was a factor in Tierney’s call, Mason replied: “I think those questions are not for me.
“I feel like we didn’t get that decision. It was a big decision, it was a crucial decision, it’s a decision that you can’t really miss.
“I just find it hard and impossible to really understand why.
“Of course, we’re just so disappointed. We came here today, created so many chances and on another day we probably win this game with ease.”
The 31-year-old said: “To gift them the winner at the end is impossible to take.”
Speaking to Match of the Day, as reported by BBC Sport’s Emma Sanders, Jota admitted that it was “not a great tackle” but that he “also touched the ball.”
“It’s just brave from him. Unfortunately it’s a foot in the face,” the Portuguese said.
“I saw the ref could see I didn’t mean it and it’s just football.”
Naturally, there was no mention from Mason of Skipp’s potential red-card challenge on Luis Diaz in the first half, which Tierney overlooked completely.
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