Late in Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over Wolves, there was an odd moment when referee Michael Oliver appeared to be unsure of himself regarding Jarell Quansah.
Oliver stopped play with Quansah on the ground, but there was no obvious head injury for the defender, which caused confusion throughout Molineux.
The ball had returned to goalkeeper Jose Sa after Liverpool had stopped a Wolves onslaught, but the referee suddenly whistled and moved to the opposing penalty area.
Oliver asked for the ball and then threw it back to Sa to start the game as Quansah was being stretched out by Alisson due to tightness.
After being ordered to get back on his feet again so that therapy could begin, the child signaled his own perplexity while the game continued.
Quansah was then replaced by Ibrahima Konate while Jurgen Klopp was furious on the touchline and arguing with the physio Lee Nobes.
It raised fresh concerns about the function of officials at a time when referees are coming under heavy scrutiny for making judgments that are getting harder to understand in the Premier League.
“In the end, there was just a little miscommunication,”
So that we could change him, he had to go down. There was some mess there.
It was a strange circumstance that, in Oliver’s defense, appeared to demonstrate that his worry for the 20-year-old had trumped his capacity to let the game run.
When Klopp decided not to “force” Konate into the starting lineup on Saturday, Quansah made his first start for the club.
“It’s just a happy time. The manager said, “I believe without him there we would have forced Ibou back.
