The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents Panel believes the red card shown to Ryan Gravenberch against Manchester City earlier this month was the correct decision.
Already a contentious fixture because it was the first for City since the Premier League’s guilty verdict over years of financial breaches was publicly revealed, Gravenberch was dismissed by referee Chris Kavanagh in the 62nd minute for two yellow-card offenses.
The score was tied 0–0 at the time. However, with the player advantage, City soon took the lead through Erling Haaland only three minutes later and had scored three times within 16 minutes of Liverpool losing the Dutch midfielder.
Andoni Iraola didn’t initially respond in-game to the red card, only sacrificing Florian Wirtz with the more defensive-minded Trey Nyoni after Liverpool had fallen behind. The second City goal from Jérémy Doku then came immediately, before the Reds had settled into their new shape.
Still, there was a sense of injustice from a Liverpool perspective because the first card shown to Gravenberch was deemed harsh and “not a yellow” in Iraola’s eyes.
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“[Elliot] Anderson carries on a couple of steps [before falling]. [The referee] wasn’t even going to give a foul. I’ve no idea why he gives a yellow card. We have like nine players behind the ball,” the frustrated Liverpool manager told Sky Sports after the final whistle.
The KMI Panel is there to assess referees and officials over match incidents defined as ‘key,’ such as goals, penalties, red cards and second yellow cards.
According to BBC Sport, the panel made a judgement on both yellow cards shown to Gravenberch when assessing the dismissal—as per protocol.
The panel voted 4:1 in favor of supporting the decision made, with the one who voted against believing the foul on Anderson should not have led to the first yellow card. But once the Liverpool player had received the first yellow card, the panel then unanimously supported the VAR’s decision not to intervene on the second yellow card that resulted in the red.
What Happens Next?
There is no real consequence, other than validating the actions of the match officials at the time. Gravenberch has already served the one-game suspension associated with the red card, sitting out last weekend’s road trip to Brentford. Liverpool won the match without him, ironically with the help of two Brentford red cards after initially falling behind in the first half.
Had the KMI Panel found a mistake, there could have been no recourse beyond an admission that the wrong call had been made and a vow to officiate better in the future. The match officials responsible might also have been put on ice for a week. But that isn’t the case here.
Gravenberch, who played 90 minutes in both of Liverpool’s Champions League wins against LASK and Villarreal either side of his domestic ban, is eligible to face Brighton & Hove Albion in his team’s next Premier League match on Sunday.
The Premier League has shared that following the sixth round of matches—so not including the most recent set last weekend—114 KMIs this season have been deemed correct 89% of the time, up from 86% at this stage of last season. For VAR interventions, 98% of decisions are considered correct.
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