Dominik Szoboszlai is expected to miss one Premier League match through suspension following his late red card in Liverpool’s dramatic defeat.
Dominik Szoboszlai is now set to serve a suspension after being sent off late on in Liverpool’s chaotic defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.
The Hungarian had earlier fired the Reds ahead with a superb free-kick, but was forced into a desperate recovery run in stoppage time as Liverpool pushed for an equaliser, leaving Alisson Becker upfield. When Rayan Cherki’s long-range effort slowly crossed the line, Szoboszlai had tracked back in an attempt to stop the goal.
In the build-up, he grabbed Erling Haaland’s shirt, with the City striker then responding in kind — leaving the officials with a major decision. After reviewing the incident on the pitchside VAR monitor, Craig Pawson ruled out the goal and showed Szoboszlai a red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity (DOGSO), with the Liverpool midfielder deemed to have committed the first offence.
Gary Neville was furious on Sky Sports commentary, slamming the VAR intervention as a “killjoy” and claiming it had robbed fans of one of the moments of the season. He argued it would have made more sense to punish both players and allow the goal to stand, although he admitted that may not fit within the laws of the game.
The dismissal only deepens Arne Slot’s selection issues. With Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley injured, Szoboszlai had already been filling in at right-back — and now Liverpool will be without him too.
While it was a straight red card, the fact it wasn’t for violent conduct means Szoboszlai is expected to miss just one Premier League match, which is the standard punishment for DOGSO. However, it still creates a major headache ahead of Wednesday night’s trip to Sunderland, with Curtis Jones now the most likely candidate to cover at right-back.
It’s another blow Liverpool could have done without in an already difficult season, and one that many will feel could have been avoided if VAR hadn’t stepped in once again.
