ANGE POSTECOGLOU referred to a little-know rule as he claimed Lucas Bergvall was correctly not sent-off against Liverpool.
The 18-year-old midfielder was the hero for Tottenham, scoring the winner in their 1-0 victory in the Carabao Cup semi-final last night.
Liverpool were incensed that Bergvall should have got his marching orders for wiping out Kostas Tsimikas when already on a yellow card.
But a second booking and subsequent red stayed in Stuart Attwell’s pocked.
Asked about the decision, Postecoglou cited a little-known rule as he claimed the ref was correct on Bergvall’s challenge because he played an advantage straight after it.
The Spurs boss said: “The rule is and we have been told for quite a while now that if advantage gets played, as long as it is not for a cynical tackle then the yellow card doesn’t get given.”
Postecoglou is partly correct – but there are more key details to understand about the rule.
In this incident, if Attwell thought it was an honest attempt to go for the ball from Bergvall, he was correct not to give a yellow as Liverpool’s attack continued.
But the remains questionable as many felt the Spurs man’s tackle was reckless, which means the ref should have red carded him instantly and not played advantage.
The rules state that advantage should not be used if the challenge was a “second cautionable offence”.
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This means the decision on Bergvall comes down to the official‘s opinion on whether it was a reckless tackle or not.
The playing of advantage does not impact this situation.
Rules on advantages state: “If the referee plays the advantage for an offence for which a caution/sending-off would have been issued had play been stopped, this caution/sending-off must be issued when the ball is next out of play.
“However, if the offence was denying the opposing team an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, the player is cautioned for unsporting behaviour; if the offence was interfering with or stopping a promising attack, the player is not cautioned.
“Advantage should not be applied in situations involving serious foul play, violent conduct or a second cautionable offence unless there is a clear opportunity to score a goal.
“The referee must send off the player when the ball is next out of play but if the player plays the ball or challenges/interferes with an opponent, the referee will stop play, send off the player and restart with an indirect free kick, unless the player committed a more serious offence.”
Reckless is “when a player acts with disregard to the danger to, or consequences for, an opponent and must be cautioned”.
