'In law, it is required'

Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett has insisted Manchester City midfielder Rodri should have been sent off against Liverpool last weekend.

Rodri was shown a yellow card just after the half hour mark for purposely stopping a Liverpool counter attack, before then committing an almost identical offence just minutes later.

With the score at 1-1, referee Simon Hooper instead let Rodri off with a warning despite the vigorous protestations of several Reds players. Liverpool would end up being charged by the FA for their reaction.

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City, of course, went onto run away with the game in the second half as Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish all got on the scoresheet to earn a 4-1 victory.

It will never be known how much a first half dismissal of Rodri would have changed the game and while Jurgen Klopp refused to pin his side's heavy defeat on that moment, Hackett believes there shouldn't even be a debate on whether the Spaniard should've been shown a red card.

He told Football Insider: “I think he was very lucky. The thinking with referees is that the second yellow has to be more of an orange card. That shouldn’t be the case.

“This was a foul, for which Hooper awarded a free-kick. It was a pullback, the hands are on the body – it’s a caution every day. Some people will say that’s harsh, but not for me.

“If he wasn’t on a booking, he would have been shown a yellow card. In law, it is required. He should have gone, there’s no question.”

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