'Gaining a reputation' - ex-referee gives brutal verdict on Liverpool 'diver' after win over Wolves
A former Premier League official has warned an ex-Wolves forward about his conduct after controversy during the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool.
Ex-Wolves forward Diogo Jota has been warned that he is “fast gaining a reputation as a bit of a diver” by a former Premier League referee after a controversial incident during Liverpool’s 2-1 win over the Old Gold on Sunday.
Liverpool were awarded a penalty by match official Simon Hooper in the second half at Anfield when Jota, who made 131 appearances for Wolves before moving to the league leaders in 2020, went down in the penalty area following a lunging challenge my centre-half Emmanuel Agbadou.
VAR swiftly intervened and overturned the decision, however, after replays showed that Agbadou’s sliding tackle had made no contact with the Portuguese player. Keith Hackett, a former top-flight referee who was also head of the PGMOL, has now told Jota that “alarm bells will be ringing” over his conduct.
What did Hackett say about Diogo Jota?
Speaking to Football Insider, Hackett praised the VAR team as they “quickly intervened” but queried why Jota was not booked for his apparent dive.
“The only thing that was missing was why, Simon Hooper, didn’t you go to Jota and issue him with a yellow card? His act of simulation to deceive you nearly succeeded. That must warrant a yellow card. To Liverpool’s Jota, I would say this. You’re fast gaining a reputation as a bit of a diver and alarm bells will be there at the PGMOL in future games to keep an eye on you.”
Had VAR not helped Hooper to reach the correct decision, Liverpool would have had an excellent chance to go 3-0 up. Instead, Wolves fought hard but ended up losing despite Matheus Cunha’s 67th-minute goal. The Old Gold remain one place and two points clear of the relegation zone after this weekend’s defeat.
Jota in no mood to help his former club
The incident may have been especially frustrating for Wolves fans given that Jota spent three seasons at the Molineux, scoring 17 Championship goals to help his former employers win promotion back to the top flight in his debut season.
Jota went on to score 44 goals for the club before signing for Liverpool in the summer of 2020 in a deal worth up to £45m including add-ons. He has now scored 64 times in 168 games for his current side, although he has only managed to score once in eight appearances against Wolves, a winner at Molineux back in March 2021.
While his antics may not have made a difference to the final result on Sunday, the eventual defeat means that Wolves remain firmly embedded in the relegation battle, with just a couple of points separating Vitor Pereira’s team from newly-promoted sides Ipswich Town and Leicester City. Wolves are next in action on Saturday when they visit Andoni Iraola’s high-flying Bournemouth, who they will also play in the FA Cup fifth round on 1 March.
In other news, there are reports that top goalscorer Cunha could still leave the club over the summer despite signing a new contract at the beginning of February, with several team supposedly interested in triggering his new release clause.