21 August 2023 , 06:51
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Alexis Mac Allister paid tribute to his Liverpool team mates in the immediate aftermath of his sending off against Bournemouth.
The Argentine midfielder was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Bournemouth’s Ryan Christie during what was his first appearance at Anfield as a Red. He had only completed a £35m switch to Merseyside earlier in the summer.
The decision from referee Thomas Bramall to send Mac Allister off - as well as inaction from VAR official Paul Tierney - left many including Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola baffled. As a result, it looks highly likely that Liverpoool will appeal the decision and could have Mac Allister back in action as soon as next weekend.
Despite the controversy surrounding his red card, the midfielder elected not to mention the decision after giving his post-match assessment. Taking to Instagram, he instead hailed the opportunity to make his Anfield debut, whilst he also thanked his teammates as they eventually secured a 3-1 victory against the Cherries.
"Yesterday I was able to make my dream come true by playing at Anfield as a Liverpool player,” Mac Allister wrote. “It was amazing.
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"It wasn’t the match that I expected but we were able to succeed as a team giving the best we had. I would like to give special thanks to my team mates for the great effort and the fans for their constant support."
Alexis Mac Allister is consoled by Jurgen Klopp following his red card (Getty Images)What was your take on Alexis Mac Allister's red card? Share your thoughts using the comments below
Whilst Mac Allister did not share his opinion on the red card, new boss Jurgen Klopp was slightly more forthcoming. The German shared his disgust at the decision and left supporters in no doubt that the Reds would be appealing to the Premier League.
He said: “I’ve seen it back. I think the number of times I’ve been asked about it, it’s worth discussing again which we will probably do.
"Alexis told me he touched him, but not really. If you have a list of points to have a penalty beside contact no other boxes are ticked. If it was a yellow card it wouldn’t have been overturned but because it’s red card and there’s contact VAR isn’t overturning it, bla, bla.
“The punishment being with 10 men for 40 minutes is already punishment itself. I don’t know we have to talk to the authorities. We saw harsher challenges which were not red cards.”
Following their win against Bournemouth - the Reds’ first of the campaign - Liverpool are next back in action at the weekend as they travel to St James’ Park for a showdown with Newcastle. Klopp’s options could be bolstered by then with potential returns for midfield pair Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic.