The main talking point from last night's EFL Cup semi-final first leg was referee Stuart Attwell's decision not to show Tottenham midfielder Lukas Bergvall a second yellow card after his challenge on Liverpool's Kostas Tsimikas.
Bergvall has already been booked, albeit harshly, after TV replays showed little contact after his slide on Luis Diaz, when he brought down Tsimikas as the Greek full-back surged forward late on at Tottenham Hotspur.
Attwell had an excellent view of the incident, but after playing the advantage, chose not to return to send off the teenage Swede.
Liverpool were angry at captain Virgil van Dijk and manager Arne Slott expressing their frustration to the match officials.
With Tsimikas off the field after receiving treatment on the pitch and Liverpool down to 10 men, Spurs immediately shot the ball forward and Dominic Solanke played in Bergvall to score the only goal of the game four minutes from time. Despite some late pressure, the home side maintained their slender advantage over Anfield in the second leg on 6 February.
What do the laws say?
Page 110 of the IFAB Rules of the Game states:
If the referee plays the advantage for an offense for which a caution/dismissal would have been issued had play stopped, that caution/dismissal must be issued when the ball is next out of play.
However, if the offense consists of denying the opposing team a clear goal-scoring opportunity, the player is cautioned for unsportsmanlike conduct; If the violation is interfering or stopping a promising attack, the player is not cautioned.
This is the rule that Tottenham coach Ange Postecoglou pointed out after the match. In his view, Bergvall's intervention amounted to “stopping a promising attack” and therefore did not deserve a warning.
However, the law continues…
The feature should not be applied in situations involving a serious foul, violent behavior or a second cautionable offense unless there is a clear chance of scoring a goal. The referee must send off a player when the ball is out of play.
As it was not a situation in which Liverpool had a “clear goal opportunity”, Attwell should have stopped the game and sent Bergvall off the pitch.
“She had a huge impact on the game.”
Arne Slott shares his thoughts on whether Lukas Bergvall should have been on the field to score the winning goal for Tottenham 💭 pic.twitter.com/LAmHueA8rZ
– Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 8, 2025
What managers and players said
“He was unlucky to be on the field (when the goal was scored),” Postecoglou said. If the advantage is taken and it is not a sarcastic tackle, it is not a yellow card. “We've been screaming about it for the last two months, and that's what we've been told.”
“I think anyone would rather the card was given (to Bergvall) than to play 40 yards from his own goal,” Slott said. “The other question is: Was it reckless enough to play the advantage and come back and say the tackle was still reckless? Enough is enough.” Give yellow color?
“I think it was quite clear that there would be a second yellow card (for Bergvall). It was very clear. And then a minute later he scores the winning goal – a coincidence,” Van Dijk told Sky Sports.
He added: “He (the referee) made a mistake in my opinion and I told him so. He thinks he didn’t do it but it was quite clear and everyone on the sidelines knew it was supposed to be a yellow card.
“There's an assistant referee, there's a fourth official there, there's VAR, there's a referee and he didn't get the second yellow card. I'm not saying that's why we lost tonight, but it was a big moment in the game.
