Madueke Claims Mac Allister Tried to Spark Red Card in Arsenal Win
Noni Madueke said Alexis Mac Allister attempted to provoke a dismissal during Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield, insisting there was no case for a card after their late confrontation.
The decisive moment came in the 79th minute, when Mac Allister fell after going face-to-face with the Arsenal forward. Madueke was not booked or sent off, with the referee allowing play to continue and VAR declining to intervene.
Arsenal went on to secure their first win at Anfield in 14 years, with Kai Havertz scoring the game’s only goal.
Madueke dismisses red-card claim
Madueke said he understood that such incidents can be reviewed differently by officials, but felt his movement had been natural and that Mac Allister had sought to influence the decision.
“Honestly, I do not see anything in it, neither a yellow nor a red,” Madueke said after the final whistle. “The referee saw it that way, VAR saw it that way, so we were all in agreement.”
He added: “It was a natural movement. He is clever and tried to draw a red card from me, but it did not happen. With VAR and different interpretations, I was thinking it was possible that I could be sent off because you never know what they are looking at. Thankfully, I was not.”
Carragher criticises Mac Allister
Jamie Carragher also condemned Mac Allister’s role in the incident, arguing that players must be challenged when they attempt to turn minor contact into a sending-off offence.
“I am delighted Madueke was not sent off,” Carragher said. “We have to be strong enough to call this out and say it is embarrassing. It needs to stop. It is ridiculous and I cannot stand it.”
The former Liverpool defender accepted that deliberate headbutts should bring red cards, but rejected the idea that every head-to-head encounter or slight contact should result in a dismissal when one player falls to the ground.
“If someone throws their head back and then butts an opponent, that is obviously a red card,” he said. “But this idea that two players go head-to-head, there is a touch, one goes down and it automatically becomes a sending-off? That cannot be right.”
Carragher said supporters, clubs and league authorities all had a responsibility to challenge the practice. Despite his Liverpool allegiance, he described Mac Allister’s reaction as “a joke” and warned that players were exploiting a system in which red cards can follow such appeals.
He called on the Premier League, refereeing chief Howard Webb and managers to address the issue and prevent dismissals being awarded for incidents of that nature.
