Liverpool and Manchester United were dealt a card happy referee last Thursday, but it seems UEFA have sent the rivals a similarly unnerving official this week as well.
At Anfield, Carlos Velasco Carballo arrived with a reputation for handing out more cards than Clinton’s – but despite booking Jordan Henderson early – he just about controlled the game – giving us a penalty early on for a tackle on Nathaniel Clyne. In fact, he should have sent Marouane Fellaini off for countless indiscretions, but decided to ignore the Belgian’s kicks and elbows.
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In two days’ time, the referee voted the worst at World Cup 2014, Milorad Mazic, will take charge.
The Serbian famously sent off Pepe in the first minute of Portugal v Germany and stitched Iran in their match with Argentina. He received 87,362 of the 110,000 votes on redcardtheref.com, cited by the Echo.
“How can this guy sleep tonight, or for the rest of his life?” Iran boss Carlos Queiroz said after the game!
Last term, Atletico midfielder Mario Suarez similarly weighed in on Mazic after a Champions League tie with Real Madrid.
“The referee is very bad. They can’t use a Serbian referee for these type of games, with all my respect. I hope that in the return leg they pick a better referee,” he said.
In fact, Mazic has handed out 27 yellow cards in this season’s Champions League alone!
With a two goal lead, we hope there’s nothing the referee can do to ruin our chances of progression. Liverpool played superbly in the first-leg, but will need an equally heroic effort in the away leg to confirm our passage into the Quarters.