Fabinho won’t be hit with a ban despite officials admitting he should have been shown a red card for his awful challenge on Evan Ferguson in Liverpool’s 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Brighton.
The Brazilian midfielder looked extremely lost as he tried to get up to the speed of the game after coming on as a substitute for Stefan Bajcetic in the 85th minute.
And mere moments after entering the fray at the Amex Stadium, Fabinho was extremely late on in-form Seagulls striker Ferguson.
Stood behind the Irishman, he dived in recklessly and connected with Ferguson’s achilles with his studs.
The former Monaco midfielder knew straight away that his challenge was a shocker, with his face an absolute picture.
He held his hands up and somehow the referee David Coote only brandished a yellow card.
But what was even more perplexing was the lack of intervention from Neil Swarbrick on VAR, which failed to upgrade to a red card.
PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) have since acknowledged that Fabinho should have been sent off as they expect tackles of that kind to receive the maximum punishment.
But despite admitting the error, Fabinho will not serve a retrospective ban. Because the officials saw the incident, it is not possible for Fabinho to be charged and suspended and so he will be available to play as normal.
Liverpool were dumped out of the cup after Japanese sensation Kaoru Mitoma popped up with an outrageous last minute winner.
Jurgen Klopp’s side return to action Saturday against Wolves as they look for a first Premier League win in 2023.
