No punishment for official after incident with Robertson

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This article was published 13/04/2023 (1239 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LONDON (AP) — No action will be taken against assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis after his interaction with Liverpool defender Andy Robertson, the English Football Association said Thursday.

Video replays appeared to show the official raise his arm toward Robertson, who had approached Hatzidakis after the halftime whistle during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday.

Hatzidakis was then stood down from duty while the FA looked into matter. But the governing body said there was no case to answer.

“We have thoroughly reviewed all of the evidence in relation to the recent incident at Anfield involving the Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson and match official Constantine Hatzidakis, and we will be taking no further action,” the FA said. “Our comprehensive process involved reviewing detailed statements from Liverpool and PGMOL, as well as multiple angles of video footage, in relation to both the incident and its surrounding circumstances.”

Sky Sports cameras zooming in on the confrontation showed Hatzidakis seemingly throwing up his arm and making contact with Robertson, who gesticulated that he had been hit by the official.

Robertson was led away by teammates and received a yellow card.

“I know it happened but I didn’t watch it,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said Sunday. “If it happened the pictures will speak for themselves.”

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