Trent Alexander Arnold: Fans Furious Liverpool Defender Escaped Red Card With Same Foul As Joao Cancelo

Trent Alexander Arnold: Fans Furious Liverpool Defender Escaped Red Card With Same Foul As Joao Cancelo

Edwin Kiplagat
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:16 PM
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  • Fans were outraged after Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold escaped a red card for the same foul as Joao Cancelo
  • Cancelo was sent off for barging into a Fulham player, but Alexander-Arnold escaped a red card for pushing Tottenham Hotspur's Ryan Sessegnon
  • Cancelo was sent off for denying Fulham's Harry Wilson a clear goal-scoring opportunity

There was mixed reactions from Premier League fans, as Trent Alexander-Arnold escaped a straight red card after barging into Tottenham Hotspur defender Ryan Sessegnon.

Fans were angry that Joao Cancelo received a red card for almost the same situation, calling out the officials for double standards while officiating the game.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ryan Sessegnon, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Premier League, Joao Cancelo
Trent Alexander Arnold narrowly escaped a straight red card during the clash between Liverpool and Tottenham. Photo by Adam Davy.
Source: Getty Images

Ivan Perisic played an exquisite pass to Sessegnon in the 18th minute, who then sprinted with the ball past Alexander-Arnold to the box.

Understanding he couldn't get the ball, Alexander-Arnold barged into the defender, who fell over. Spurs fans erupted, expecting a penalty, but it was not coming according to the Guardian.

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Fans angry at inconsistent officials

Manchester City's Joao Cancelo was red-carded as he barged into the back of Fulham's Harry Wilson, resulting in a penalty. In this instance, Wilson was through on goal, according to Sportbible.

Fans were angry at the officials for a lack of consistency, and Spurs fans were particularly livid.

Many fans felt the situation was the same as Cancelo's during Man City's narrow 2-1 win over the Cottagers.

"Cancelo did the same thing yesterday and got a Red card+ penalty for it. Trent does it, refs don't even consider it. Anfield tax is real."
"That Trent on sess was exactly what cancelo got sent off for yesterday."
"CANCELO GOT SENT OFF FOR WHAT TRENT JUST DID ."
"Not sure how Trent has got away with that a day after Cancelo was penalised for the exact same offence ."

Others felt that the two actions were different, but since Sessegnon was in the box, he should've gotten a penalty nonetheless.

"Think the difference between how Cancelo & Trent's fouls were judged comes down to where the attacker was and where he was running. If Sessengnon's running centrally at goal, a penalty gets called. Ridiculous because the action is are the same. Where in the box shouldn't matter."

Some felt Cancelo fouled a man through on goal while Sessegnon didn't have a goal-scoring opportunity. However, Spurs should've gotten a penalty.

"The only difference in these situations was that Cancelo was last man and Trent wasn’t. That being said… both are penalties ‍♂️ Just Trent probably gets a yellow and not a red."

Another said the two fouls were incomparable.

"Comparing Cancelo’s giving away of a pen to that one that Trent did is stupid. The one against Cancelo was a clear goal scoring opportunity."

Alexander-Arnold's message to teammates

Sports Brief earlier reported on Alexander-Arnold sending a message to his Liverpool teammates, after the embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Leeds United at Anfield.

He said they needed to beat Spurs in their next match, and they did just that.

"That's something for everyone to think about, for everyone to address and make sure we put it right, especially next week against Spurs, top-four rivals."
Authors
Edwin Kiplagat photo
Edwin Kiplagat
Edwin Kiplagat has five years of experience in journalism working as a Sports Editor at Africa Insight Communications and ESPN. Edwin Kiplagat is a Bachelor's Degree holder in journalism from the Multimedia University of Kenya.