05 October 2023 , 19:47
1179
0
Liverpool substitutes Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai alerted Anfield medics to an emergency in the stands during their Europa League clash with Union Saint-Gilloise.
Jones and Szoboszlai noticed the incident in the Main Stand when they were warming up during the first half of Thursday's match, having both been named on the bench by manager Jurgen Klopp. The Reds duo jogged back down the touchline to alert the paramedics on site at Anfield and the game was briefly paused.
Fans also gestured to signal that the individual required urgent attention. The game was goalless at the time. The incident comes two days after a Leyton Orient supporter tragically died on the side of the pitch during a League One fixture. Derek Reynolds, 74, passed away at Brisbane Road as Tuesday's game against Lincoln City was abandoned.
Shortly after the medical incident at Anfield, Liverpool took a 1-0 lead through new signing Ryan Gravenberch. Trent Alexander-Arnold's shot from the edge of the area was parried out by USG goalkeeper Anthony Moris and Gravenberch followed up to score his first goal for the club.
The Dutch midfielder came into the side in place of Jones, who was sent off on Saturday during a controversial 2-1 loss to Tottenham. Liverpool appealed the decision but saw their attempts rebuffed by the Premier League, who upheld his three-match ban which will see him miss clashes with Brighton, bitter rivals Everton and Nottingham Forest.
Klopp's dream Liverpool line up as last-gasp January transfers rejected
Reds boss Klopp disputed the decision, saying: "Curtis Jones got a red card and I stick to the opinion that it's not a red card. The referee got called to the screen and saw, for the first three seconds, a frozen picture and I would have immediately given a red card for that picture. Then he sees the replay in slow-motion and I would have given a red card for the slow-motion. But in real time it is not a red card."
Ryan Gravenberch scored his first goal for Liverpool to take the lead over Union Saint-Gilloise (Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)Diogo Jota was also shown a red card for two separate offences against Tottenham, another decision which Klopp didn't agree with. "Diogo Jota also got two yellow cards for not touching a player once," the Reds manager claimed. "That's unprecedented as well. But that's fine."
The main point of controversy was Liverpool's wrongly disallowed goal due to a VAR mix-up. It prompted a furious Klopp to call for an unprecented replay, however unlikely. "The only outcome should be a replay… probably won't happen," the German told reporters on Wednesday.
"The argument against that will be if we open that gate everyone will ask for it. I think the situation is unprecedented. I'm 56 years old and I'm absolutely used to wrong decisions. But something like that as far as I can remember has never happened. That's why it should be a replay."