Former Manchester United center-back Rio Ferdinand has doubled down on his opinion that Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate should have been sent off against PSG in the Champions League this week.
Working as a co-commentator for TNT Sports on the UK broadcast of the game, Ferdinand was insistent that Konate should have been sent off for pushing Bradley Barcola in the back when the 22-year-old forward was racing through on goal. The referee, Davide Massa, waved play on at the time of the incident and a VAR review found no clear and obvious error.
Ferdinand drew widespread criticism for his punditry with Liverpool fans taking to social media to make their feelings known. The ex-England star weighed in on several topics during the game which caused ire among Reds fans watching along.
“Just to clarify for all the Liverpool fans who are still tweeting me… Konate should’ve been sent off last night,” Ferdinand has now posted on X/Twitter. Doubling down on his opinion, he only drew more frustration from Liverpool fans who replied to him after becoming frustrated with his commentary while the game was live.
“There was a VAR check,” Konate told Canal+ when he was asked about the incident after the final whistle was blown. “If there was a push, like you said, I would have been shown a red card.
“I’m telling you that there wasn’t a foul. It’s true that I am very strong but I don’t apply power, I just put my arm. If I had put a lot more power into it then we could talk about it… but it was soft from me.”
(Image: Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images)
PSG sporting director Luis Campos vented his anger at the match officials as they walked down the tunnel at half-time. “It’s a red card or a penalty,” he was heard shouting. Ferdinand was in agreement, claiming at half-time that he “couldn’t believe how lucky” Liverpool had been with the decision.
Liverpool.com says: There was definitely a case for Konate being sent off and had the referee given it as a foul on the field, there is no way that it would have been overturned. He did perhaps get away with it to some extent.
However, there was also definitely far too much of Ferdinand on the TNT broadcast. He wasn’t offering much in terms of insight and Liverpool fans everywhere seemed in universal agreement that it would have been a better program without him.
