Should Harry Maguire have been sent off against Liverpool for last-man foul on Sadio Mane?

It’d be fair to say that Martin Atkinson is not the most popular man on Merseyside right now.

Not only were Liverpool fans livid that he failed to award Naby Keita a penalty for what looked like a clear foul by Ricardo Pereira in the second half of Wednesday night’s game against Leicester, they also felt that Foxes goalscorer Harry Maguire should have been sent off before he scored their equaliser on the stroke of half time.

The incident in question came in the 41st minute, when Sadio Mane pounced on a loose ball in the middle third and looked like he might go one-on-one having burst through Leicester’s high defensive line. Instead, Maguire clipped him from behind and brought him down for a caution. The home fans at Anfield were incensed given that Maguire appeared to be the last man.

Maguire should have walked.

Last man.

Guilt written all over him.

Absolute joke of a decision. pic.twitter.com/7Tuu8cd9Tv

— We Are Liverpool (@_pepper_red11) January 30, 2019

Maguire seemed sheepish about the incident in the immediate aftermath and again in his post-match interview. Speaking to BT Sport, he said: “I didn’t really mean to bring him down so I thought it was the right decision but, no, you’re always worried because it looked like he was going to run in through on goal.

“Jonny Evans, I think it went underneath his foot,” Maguire went on, styling out the fact that he had just cheerily shifted blame onto his teammate with the magnificent mixed metaphor: “It was a heart in hands moment, but thankfully it was a yellow card.”

"I didn't really mean to bring him down, so I thought it was the right decision, you always worry…"

Harry Maguire speaks about that challenge on Sadio Mane…

@DesKellyBTS pic.twitter.com/I0dXVsuEnQ

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 30, 2019

‘It’s a 100 per cent chance’

Though Jurgen Klopp made it infinitely clear that – since he’s not a referee – he did not want to talk about the incident after the match he did, of course, go on to talk about it in considerable detail.

“I’m not sure,” he said when asked whether Maguire should have been sent off. “Is it smart? Is that what he’s doing? I would say it’s a 100 per cent chance at least and I think that’s the situation, that’s something which gives you the chance or tells the ref he has to give a red card.

“Not only Sadio is through, I’m pretty sure Mo [Salah] is on the other side so he can play two versus [Kasper] Schmeichel. But again, Martin Atkinson thought it’s not a red card, he gave a yellow card, that’s it.”

"I'm not the referee. I would say it's a 100% chance, not only was Sadio through, I think Mo was on the other side."

"I think we agree it was a penalty."

Jurgen Klopp speaks to @DesKellyBTS about two decisions which didn't go Liverpool's way. pic.twitter.com/H75xkhPxHE

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 30, 2019

So should Maguire have seen red?

Given that Maguire himself admitted that he thought he might see red, it’s hard to deny the case for a sending off entirely. That said, there is one key element of the Laws of the Game which may exonerate him and which, strangely enough, was highlighted by Georginio Wijnaldum after the game.

“The ref can explain better why he didn’t give the red card,” Wijnaldum said in his post-match interview with beIN Sports. “I think maybe because the distance to goal was quite big, so maybe someone could catch Sadio.”

Harry Maguire dodges a potential red card and costs Liverpool the win! Gini WIjnaldum is staying positive though.#beINPL #LIVLEI #LFC pic.twitter.com/03rnKgqmGh

— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) January 30, 2019

While the Laws of the Game state that denying a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity can result in a red card, they also state that “the distance between the offence and the goal” should be considered. That means that, while there’s little doubting that Maguire was the last man, the fact that the foul took place in the middle third may have affected Martin Atkinson’s thinking.

Read more: Liverpool slip up against Leicester, but Premier League triumph will be worth the wait

Ultimately, the decision is up to the referee’s discretion, Atkinson felt a caution was fair and that call is justifiable under the rules. Had he not then failed to award a potentially decisive penalty for the foul on Naby Keita in the second half, the likelihood is that Maguire’s caution would have been a minor talking point as opposed to a major controversy.