Liverpool are appealing Alexis Mac Allister’s red card ahead of their game against Newcastle

Liverpool have decided to appeal the red card received by Alexis Mac Allister in Saturday’s Premier League game against Bournemouth

Liverpool have decided to make a formal appeal against the controversial dismissal of Alexis Mac Allister in the Premier League clash with Bournemouth.

Mac Allister received a direct red card from referee Thomas Bramall just before the hour mark after a challenge with Ryan Christie in the Reds’ 3-1 win at Anfield on Saturday.

Neither VAR Paul Tierney nor assistant Constantine Hatzidakis saw reason to order Bramall to review the decision on the pitch monitor, leaving Mac Allister – who arrived from Brighton in the summer for £35million and made his home debut – facing a three-game ban.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp immediately questioned the decision and raised the possibility of challenging the dismissal.

And the Reds have now decided to appeal to the Football Association in the unfair dismissal category within two days of the incident. The FA will now review the evidence through an independent regulatory committee and will have the power to overturn the decision and overturn Mac Allister’s suspension.

They will report back later this week with Mac Allister currently missing Sunday’s away fixture against Newcastle United, along with fixtures against Aston Villa at home and Wolverhampton Wanderers away.

Liverpool have heeded the FA’s position on “frivolous” appeals, which could lead to a three-match ban which could be extended to four if the appeal is rejected. However, an appeal may be dismissed without penalty of an extra game if it is felt that there was reason to question the original decision.

Klopp said on Saturday: “I’ve reviewed it, I think the number of times I’ve been asked about it shows we’re talking about it. In the game I asked Macca and he said ‘I touched it but not really’ is all he told me.

“After the match I saw that and if you have a point list of what we need to give a red card, to what we need for contact, at that point there’s no other box ticked.” the 40-minute penalty with 10 men is sufficient punishment.”

More news…….

Liverpool would need to sign three more players to complete Jurgen Klopp’s $261m transfer rebuild

Florida-based Liverpool fan Morgan O’Sullivan gives us his thoughts on the Reds’ latest talking points, including transfers and Wataru Endo.

Liverpool return to the Premier League against Bournemouth today. Jurgen Klopp’s side will return to Anfield for the first time since the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa in May.

After picking up the same draw at Chelsea six days ago in the opening weekend, Liverpool will be looking to go the extra mile this time and make sure they don’t come into a tough game at Newcastle. United without a win already, according to The Table.

Before the game, we asked Florida-based Liverpool fan Morgan O’Sullivan a few questions about the Reds, including transfers, new signing Wataru Endo and more.

Wataru Endo is officially a Liverpool player. Thoughts?

Endo brings a lot of experience to the table, but the vast majority of fans will never have heard of him. All of the various scouting reports sound positive, but we’ll have to see it in action before we can pass judgement. If he is joined by another new signing, two fans will be satisfied. Otherwise, they will be frustrated by the club’s lack of investment. Sometimes unexpected acquisitions bring the greatest success. Could our new Endo replace the former Hendo and take us to glory? Time will tell.

What was your opinion on the Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia sagas?

The challenges in the middle of the pitch were obvious to everyone last season. We spent the year confident that Jude Bellingham would come and there was money to spend.

We signed two players for a total of $121m (£95m/€111m) and it all looked promising. Despite Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, we felt like we needed another player in the middle. All summer we heard rumors about Khéphren Thuram, Manu Koné and Ryan Gravenberch, and in July rumors about Roméo Lavia surfaced.

I feel like the club have been contradictory in their approach to Lavia. They went on to make three offers and then jumped on Caicedo. If the club really wanted to sign Lavia, they should have been able to agree after the second offer. However, the perception among supporters was that there was little money left for the club and we were trying to save every penny we could. If we really wanted that we should have jumped in and paid the money.

From Caicedo, I have a certain sympathy for the club. Liverpool apparently took part in a blind auction, encouraged by the player’s brokers. Eventually we were used by agents to raise the fee when the player ultimately had no intention of joining the club. People will say Liverpool haven’t done their homework. However, if they had interacted with the agent, as we have been led to believe, and were encouraged, they cannot be blamed. I really think Caicedo would have been an ideal midfield signing and would have had a similar impact on Liverpool as he had N\’Golo Kante on Chelsea when he joined them.

What else do you need to do in the summer to be happy with Liverpool’s business?

In an ideal world I would still like the club to get a midfielder and a defender. The return of Thiago Alcântara and Stefan Bajčetić will have a positive impact on midfield, but after Endo I would like to have one more in the centre. If we had rejected an offer of $140m (£110m/€128m) for Caicedo and spent just $21m (£16m/€19m) on Endo, we would have paid $119m (£93m/€ 109 million) Left. Could we do Thuram, Gravenberch and a defender for that? Add that to spending already made and the total summer spend is $261m (£205m/€240m). The biggest mistake I would make at the club would be not to sign players before returning to pre-season. It was clear we needed more than Mac Allister and Szoboszlai before Henderson and Fabinho left, and pre-season plays an important role in getting players settled.

How did you experience the game against Chelsea? A hope for the three points against Bournemouth? There were moments where we were fantastic against Chelsea. But there were times when we looked so naked in the middle of the field. Like last year, I felt we could have finished the game early. I’m still scratching my head over some refereeing decisions. A point away at Chelsea can always be appreciated. And who knows, this could be the point that earns us the title. We have a difficult start and therefore a good start is essential. Three points and a positive performance are decisive today.

Anything else to mention?

To attempt the title, Anfield must once again become a fortress. Nineteen home games have the potential to yield 57 points. Aim for at least 50.