Fuming Andoni Iraola storms down tunnel mid-match vs Liverpool because of referee | Football | Sport
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola stormed down the tunnel before the final whistle against Liverpool after being left furious with the performance of referee Darren England.
Liverpool took an early lead through a controversial penalty, with Cody Gakpo deemed to have been tripped in the box. England showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot before a lengthy VAR check failed to overturn the on-field decision.
Mohamed Salah made no mistake from 12 yards, firing into the back of the net to put the visitors ahead. He doubled Liverpool‘s advantage with 15 minutes left to play, beating Kepa Arrizabalaga with a fine finish from a tight angle.
Iraola was seething on the touchline after the goal, having been left frustrated by England’s display with the whistle. At one point with about five minutes remaining, he stormed down the tunnel in anger before returning to the dugout a few moments later.
The Spaniard was also shown a yellow card for dissent after engaging in a furious discussion with England. Bournemouth fans inside the Vitality Stadium responded by singing: “Who’s the Scouser in the blue?”
In his post-match interview, Iraola said: “Disappointed when you lose a game. Small things that didn’t go for us. We have given ourselves a chance, but it hasn’t been enough.
“Key moments, you can score and make the difference, but we have not scored and at the end, against teams like Liverpool, you need to punish them whenever you have the chance.
“The way the players performed, everyone can see it has been a high-level game. We have a week to prepare for the game against Everton in the FA Cup.”
Liverpool‘s victory saw them move another step closer to securing Premier League glory, with the Reds now ahead of second-placed Arsenal by nine points.
They celebrated wildly after the final whistle, with Arne Slot congratulating every single one of his players and applauding the travelling fans.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, had plenty of opportunities to score but ended up drawing a blank. They had the ball in the net before the break when David Brooks fired past Alisson Becker, but the goal was chalked off due to Milos Kerkez being offside.
Justin Kluivert wasted their best chance of the match in the second half, inexplicably missing an open goal from only a few yards out. The hosts also struck the post on two occasions but were unable to find a breakthrough in spite of their best efforts.
