10 April 2023 , 08:57
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Former Premier League referee Peter Walton has pointed the blame at Andy Robertson for his altercation with Constantine Hatzidakis - after the left-back appeared to be elbowed in Liverpool's 2-2 draw against Arsenal.
As the players were walking back to the tunnel at half-time, Robertson grabbed Hatzidakis and didn't look best pleased with the assistant referee. Hatzidakis reacted angrily to that though and moved his arm back in what seemed to an elbowing motion towards Robertson's face.
The Scotland international wasn't happy with Hatzidakis and neither were the Liverpool players, who stormed around the official, sparking an ugly encounter heading into the interval. Robertson, Diogo Jota and Jordan Henderson remonstrated with Hatzidakis and referee Paul Tierney as they left the pitch.
Robertson was then booked by Tierney, to the anger of Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Henderson and Jota. Despite the melee and Hatzidakis' actions, Walton believes Robertson was firstly at fault for the incident.
He said: "Of course, Constantine Hatzidakis should not have pushed his elbow towards Andrew Robertson. All officials have a duty to uphold standards and the PGMOL probe may bring a reprimand.
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"However, I believe the available replays make the incident look worse than it probably was. Robertson went over to the assistant, and Hatzidakis then motions in the Liverpool left back's direction. The quality of the footage makes more than speculation difficult.
"Regardless, this episode is emblematic of the heightening tensions between players and officials. It is also worth emphasising that Robertson instigated the dispute by unnecessarily approaching Hatzidakis, as the confronting of referees and their assistants continues."
Andy Robertson appears to take an elbow in the face from the official (Sky Sports)The PGMOL issued a statement during the second-half of Liverpool's 2-2 draw, which read: "PGMOL is aware of an incident involving assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis and Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson at half-time during the Liverpool v Arsenal fixture at Anfield. We will review the matter in full once the game has concluded."
Roy Keane also delivered his verdict on the incident - and also slammed Robertson for how he dealt with it. He described the Scot as a "big baby" in a scathing assessment ahead of the second-half.
He told Sky Sports: "But Robertson, do you know what, does he grab the linesman first? I'm not sure, but he's complaining. He should be more worried about his defending.
"Do you know what it is, that Robertson? I've watched him a number of times. He's a big baby. That's what he is. Just get on with the game and concentrate on your defending. He does grab the linesman first."
Liverpool managed to salvage a draw in the end despite going two-nil down at Anfield. Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus had put Arsenal in the ascendancy, before goals from Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino earned the Reds a deserved point.