Liverpool were at the centre of some refereeing controversy during Sunday’s match against Arsenal after they were denied a penalty for a clear shirt pull on Alexander Isak.

The Reds really should have been awarded a spot-kick in the first-half, giving them the chance to level Kai Havertz’s opener.

Nyoni trod on the heel of Martin Odegaard during the first exchanges of the match, with many Arsenal fans adamant that the challenge warranted a red card. The 19-year-old soon followed it up with another late tackle on Havertz which also went unpunished.

According to former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher, though, Madley was right not to hand Nyoni his marching orders, with a yellow card the maximum the youngster deserved.

Nyoni did not deserve a red card vs Arsenal

There would certainly have been a few hearts in mouths from Liverpool supporters when they saw the slow-motion replays of Nyoni’s tackle on Odegaard. The teenager certainly caught his opponent with his studs up.

However, Gallagher agreed that there was not enough in the challenge to warrant anything more than a possible booking.

“I think on another day he may well have gotten a booking for the first one,” he explained on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch segment.

“The second one 100 per cent no. I think the second one is just a foul. We have to be very, very mindful that sometimes it’s just a foul. You don’t have to issue a yellow or red card for every challenge that’s a foul.

“I don’t think it is [a red card], I just can’t see it. We have to be mindful that we sanitise the game if every time you commit a foul it’s going to be a yellow or red card.”

Some Arsenal fans have been quick to compare Nyoni’s tackle to the one which saw Xavi Simons’ given a straight red card for a foul on Virgil van Dijk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last season.

Gallagher is adamant that the tackles were not at all alike, though, explaining that the momentum Simons gathered from running a distance towards Van Dijk changed the complexion of the subsequent infringement.

“100 per cent no [that Simons’ red card was a mistake], it’s not the same tackle,” he said.

“He [Simons] doesn’t do it deliberately, he doesn’t do it mindfully, it’s a complete accident, I get that, but it’s a consequence that he’s chased him 10, 15 yards across the pitch, that’s where he’s gained his momentum.”