Liverpool manager Arne Slot is serving a two-match ban following a clash with referee Michael Oliver at the end of the recent Premier League draw away at Everton
Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett has suggested the Premier League could be tempted to introduce points sanctions for managers’ behaviour in the aftermath of Arne Slot’s run-in with Michael Oliver.
Liverpool manager Slot let Oliver know exactly what he made of the referee’s decision to allow James Tarkowski’s late leveller in the Merseyside Derby in February. The Dutchman was shown a red ard after the final whistle at Goodison Park, eventually receiving a two-match ban which he will complete against Southampton in his team’s next league game.
“It happened a lot and the emotions got the better of me,” Slot said of his behaviour. “If I could do it differently, If I look back at it, I would love to do it differently. I would do it (differently) next time as well.”
He isn’t the only manager to have a run-in with officials this term, Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler and Nottingham Forest counterpart Nuno Espirito Santo were both dismissed when the teams met in September, and Hackett has warned more run-ins between managers and referees could prompt new rules.
““I would like to see referees at the final whistle moving towards the tunnel rather than standing in the middle looking for handshakes and any complimentary comments,” Hackett told Football Insider. “This will I feel reduce any tensions that have built up in the game. I hope that the level of fines will receive a more controlled approach by the manager and his assistant.
“If these fines going forward do not have the desired effect then we may see points deductions coming into play. The last time they used that sanction for an on-field mass confrontation was in the game between Manchester United v Arsenal (in the 1990s) where I was the man in the middle.”
Arsenal were deducted two points after that 1990 meeting, with United handed a one-point penalty. Despite Hackett’s speculation, there has been no indication from the Premier League that points deductions for on-field offences are in the pipeline.
Slot wasn’t the only one suspended after Liverpool’s match at Everton. Midfielder Curtis Jones served a one-match ban for a red card, as did Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucoure, while Slot’s assistant Sipke Hulshoff joined the boss in sitting out the Reds’ last league game.
Liverpool still won without their manager in the dugout, with John Heitinga taking charge of the 2-0 league win over Newcastle. Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister scored the goals, giving the Merseyside club a mental boost ahead of their Carabao Cup final meeting with the same opponents.
Slot’s ban is a domestic one, meaning he will return to the dugout for the Champions League before sitting out Saturday’s Southampton clash. Paris Saint-Germain are Liverpool’s opponents in Europe, with the first leg at the Parc des Princes.
