VAR confirm controversial Moises Caicedo decision vs Liverpool after Ryan Gravenberch injury

The English Football League (EFL) has provided clarification regarding the incident involving Moises Caicedo’s tackle on Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, shedding light on why Caicedo escaped a red card despite the collision resulting in Gravenberch being stretchered off with an ankle injury.

During the match, Caicedo made contact with Gravenberch, landing on his ankle in a manner that led to the unfortunate injury. Despite scrutiny over the incident, including a review by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) following Gravenberch’s injury-induced substitution, the on-field referee, Chris Kavanagh, opted not to issue a yellow card to Caicedo. Consequently, there was no subsequent retrospective punishment.

Insights from football.london indicate that the tackle by Caicedo was deemed reckless rather than constituting serious foul play. Given this assessment, the VAR official found no grounds to overturn the original decision made by the referee, resulting in no disciplinary action against Caicedo.

Moreover, since Caicedo had not received a yellow card during the match, VAR was unable to intervene to issue one retrospectively. It’s worth noting that Caicedo had committed an earlier foul on Wataru Endo during the game.

Liverpool’s manager, Jurgen Klopp, expressed his frustration with the decision, or lack thereof, from the sidelines. The tension escalated as Chelsea nearly capitalized on the situation, with Raheem Sterling nearly scoring shortly after, only for his goal to be disallowed due to offside.

During the match coverage on Sky Sports, former Premier League referee Mike Dean, alongside Peter Drury, Gary Neville, and Jamie Carragher, analyzed the incident. Dean remarked, “I think he’s caught his foot on his [Gravenberch’s] foot,” offering insights into the dynamics of the collision.