Liverpool confirm major decision that could impact Newcastle United clash after controversial incident

Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister is hoping to return to the starting line-up for his side's upcoming clash with Newcastle United, despite his suspension.

The Argentine midfielder was sent off in the second half of his side's 3-1 victory over Bournemouth for a mistimed tackle on opponent Ryan Christie. Mac Allister faces a three game suspension as punishment which will rule him out of upcoming clashes against Newcastle, Aston Villa and Wolves.

The decision prompted criticism from Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, with the club confirming their intention on Monday to appeal the decision. Speaking after the game, Klopp expressed his frustration at the sending off and claimed it was extremely harsh.

Klopp said: “It’s harsh this shouldn’t have been a red card. It's a mistake and the punishment of playing 40 minutes with 10 men is already punishment enough. We have to talk to the authorities.”

Klopp added: “There was contact but there is contact in a game all the time. If he gives a yellow card nobody would say, 'by the way you need to have another look at that'.

"The amount of times I've already been asked about it shows it is worth discussing again, which we will probably do. I asked Macca and he said 'he touched him, but not really'. If we have a list of points of what you need to give a red card, besides contact there's no other box ticked."

Klopps’ views were backed up by a number of pundits on Match of The Day including Gary Lineker who described the decision as “nonsense” whilst claiming that the officials were having a “poor day.”

Dion Dublin echoed these comments on BBC Radio 5 live. He said: “Not a red for me. Downgrade it to a yellow. It is a high foot, there is no malice in there. Mac Allister has tried to go in side-footed, not with a straight leg. Both had high feet, both went for the ball, yellow for me."

It remains to be seen if the decision will be overturned ahead of Liverpool's trip to Newcastle United, who are looking to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat against Manchester City.

Eddie Howe’s side were beaten in both of their games against Liverpool last season, despite finishing above them in the league table. The Newcastle boss also added that he was coping well with the new technical area rules  which prevent more than one member of the coaching staff from standing at the front of the technical area at any one time during a match. 

Liverpool boss Klopp was asked about the rule changes and was quick to namecheck Newcastle in his response. Klopp said: “It’s like that in the Champions League anyway - I think it’s only for one team a real problem...Newcastle!” 

Howe responded to Klopp's comments by saying: “ I heard about them [comments] through various sources. The rules do impact us slightly more than other teams just because of how we worked historically.

“This isn’t a new thing for me and Jason, this has been a thing for as long as I’ve been in management, that’s how we worked. I didn’t find it too bad last week. We dovetailed in and out of the area, it worked, we talked, I didn’t notice a big difference from previous seasons.”