The Liverpool manager Arne Slot could face two games or possibly more banned from the touchline should the Football Association decide to charge him for remarks made to referee Michael Oliver at the end of Wednesday’s fiery Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
Slot was red-carded by referee Oliver for comments he made as he approached the official at the end of the game – not for the handshake which appeared to go on longer than Oliver expected. The FA governance department will make its decision based on its own observations and Oliver’s report on the game which has already been submitted. A misconduct charge for Slot could even arrive as early as Friday morning.
There were four red cards at the end of the dramatic 2-2 draw, with fans on the pitch, bottles thrown from the stands and players grappling with one another after James Tarkowski’s 98th minute equaliser. Abdoulaye Doucoure and Curtis Jones were both dismissed by Oliver for second yellow card offences which will trigger automatic one-game bans. That is different to Slot who is likely to be on the bench for the visit to Anfield of Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.
The FA has until Monday to decide whether Slots is issued with a standard or non-standard charge, although both could be contested by the Liverpool manager and go to a disciplinary hearing. A standard charge would be a set tariff of a touchline ban or fine which Slot could choose to accept immediately or contest. The sanction for a non-standard charge would be decided at a hearing in the next few weeks.
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It would be at any hearing that the details of Oliver’s report would be discussed and could well emerge in the published reasons for a judgement. Slot picked up a touchline ban for Liverpool’s Carabao Cup tie against Southampton in December when he accumulated three yellow cards. That previous mark on his record means that the FA could decide on a non-standard charge. There could also be further charges against the clubs and individual players once the FA has finished analysing footage of the confrontations at the end of the game.
Following Sunday’s game against Wolves, Liverpool have tough away games against Aston Villa and Manchester City. The FA will also have to decide what charge it brings against Slot’s assistant Sipke Hulshoff who was the recipient of the fourth red card on Wednesday night. There was confusion earlier in the day when an item on the Premier League website relating to its fantasy football prediction game suggested that Slot would get a two-game ban. It was never intended as a piece of official commentary and has since been removed. The FA has the responsibility for on-field disciplinary matters in the English game.
