Despite Brentford’s expensive 3-0 loss at Liverpool, Thomas Frank adopted a reasonable stance on VAR and the referee’s decision not to send out Wataru Endo.
Frank is without a doubt one of the Premier League’s smartest and most approachable managers, which has won the Dane high praise at Brentford.
That shone through regardless of the outcome on Sunday, when his team was soundly defeated at Anfield by Mohamed Salah’s brace and a magnificent strike from Diogo Jota.
But there was a lot of buzz soon after the second half started, when Endo teamed up with Christian Norgaard in a tough, old-fashioned challenge.
Endo won the ball, but Norgaard was left on the ground, with VAR eventually resolving the matter – and, thankfully, the decision not to dismiss Liverpool’s No. 3.
When asked about the issue during his post-match press conference, Frank provided a measured response, insisting that while recent examples indicate it would have been a red, he believes it “shouldn’t be.”
“There would have been a lot fewer red cards back in the day.” “I don’t think this would have been a red card back in the day,” he explained.
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“In the football we’re playing now and back then, I believe the ref missed a foul and a yellow card on the field.” That’s what I believe he overlooked.
“I believe the situation is different with VAR. But, even with VAR, I believe we make mistakes.
“Even with VAR, I believe a situation like this should not result in a red card – should not result in a red card.”
“However, if the slow image we get today shows a clear foot on the leg and four bloody marks on Christian’s leg, then there was definitely some contact and it had to be with some excessive force.”
“He went over the ball with enough force to do that.”
“When you do that with still footage, you have Curtis Jones against Tottenham, Rashford against Copenhagen, and I’m sure there’s a lot more.”
“Then there’s the one against Newcastle a few years ago and this one today.”
“Keeping that in mind, it’s a red card.” In my perspective, all four should not be in the future. But the way things are going, it’s a red card.”
Brentford supporters may also be displeased with the buildup to Salah’s second goal, with Kostas Tsimikas crossing the ball after it appeared to have already gone out.
A VAR check determined that the full ball did not cross the line, and Frank agreed because of the absence of clear technology.
“The [second Salah goal], I will never complain about that,” he told reporters.
“I think you guys in Liverpool were hard done by 1.3cm back in the day [against Man City] weren’t you?” And it was all because to goal-line technology.
“I will never, ever, ever, ever complain unless you have that technology [for every line].”
“By the way, I was quite a distance away, so I believe it was difficult for me to see that.”
“I’m more disappointed with our own defending, I think we need to look into that first.”
