Jason McAteer has been slammed for his live TV comments following Mohamed Salah’s public outburst. Liverpool have been put into a tailspin this week as, after already facing serious questions about manager Arne Slot, they now have to juggle their Premier League winning boss’ uncertain future with that of their greatest player of the last decade.
Salah went nuclear in his post-match interview after the Reds’ 3-3 draw at Leeds United. The Egyptian international hasn’t started any of the last three matches, prompting him to claim he’d been “thrown under the bus” and to reveal that his relationship with the manager had broken down, seemingly out of nowhere.
Everyone has an opinion on Liverpool’s fragile title defence, and on whether Salah was right or wrong to air his frustrations publicly. While the likes of John Terry have defended the 33-year-old, plenty of others have made eyebrow-raising comments about the reigning Premier League Player of the Season.
Across 420 appearances for Liverpool, Salah has scored 250 goals and produced 116 assists, winning everything there is to win during his time at Anfield. He’s had multiple genuine Ballon d’Or shouts, and the fact his current manager has a win percentage of 75 per cent when the winger has scored, compared to below 45 per cent when he hasn’t, surely shows how important he has been.
But McAteer, who grew up in Birkenhead and played 139 times for the Reds, believes Salah never carried his team to any of their honours, suggesting other players were more influential in their success under Jurgen Klopp. He said on beIN Sports (watch below):
“No [he hasn’t carried them]. His numbers are phenomenal, but he can be frustrating. There are times in games where he goes missing and is nonexistent. Other players have stepped up and did what they needed to do. He’s one of the great, and always will be, but carry the club? Steven Gerrard carried the club.”
After then being asked whether he thinks Liverpool would have won two Premier League titles and a Champions League without Salah, the retired midfielder revealed that he felt Jordan Henderson was more integral. “They wouldn’t have won a Premier League without Jordan Henderson,” he added.
“But he doesn’t score the goals or get the assists, he doesn’t have the glamour of an attacking player. Jordan Henderson is a leader, wins the ball, gives the ball to Salah. He [Salah] didn’t carry the club, he played his part.”
Indeed, some of what McAteer is saying is true. While Gerrard was a Roy-of-the-Rovers-style hero who acted as a one-man wrecking ball, almost single-handedly winning Liverpool trophies in situations that seemed impossible, Salah is one of several world-class players in the modern iterations of the Reds squad.
But entire systems were built around him under Klopp and then Slot last season, with Liverpool’s success revolving heavily around the Egyptian’s goalscoring and playmaking. That’s the point many made in response to McAteer, as one X user remarked:
“Salah has been Liverpool top goalscorer for the past five seasons. If that doesn’t amount to ‘carrying the club’ then I don’t know.”
Another added: “This is nasty. Liverpool literally won the Premier League last season without Henderson, with Salah being top goalscorer and top assister,” while a third quipped: “Ridiculously outrageous take. Sackable. Salah was the chicken in chicken soup. Henderson wasn’t even salt shaker.”
Elsewhere, a fourth concluded: “They’ve clearly been told to close ranks against him. Embarrassing trying to change the narrative. He’s a Liverpool legend and being treated like he did nothing for them.”
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Former FIFA referee Mark Halsey has made an interesting comparison between Lionel Messi‘s foul against Algeria and Folarin Balogun’s red-card offence in the United States win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Balogun opened the scoring in the USA’s 2-0 win over Bosnia in the Round of 32 at the World Cup on Wednesday night. The former Arsenal striker then received his marching orders for a foul on Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic.
The pair battled for the ball, and Balogun’s studs made contact with Muharemovic’s calf. Brazilian referee Raphael Claus initially missed the incident before VAR intervened and sent him to the pitchside monitor, and he subsequently brandished a red card.
There has been widespread debate over Balogun’s sending off and USA boss Mauricio Pochettino hit out at the decision after the game. He said, It’s ‘never a red card’ because there was ‘never any intention to step on the player.”
Pochettino also weighed in on the comparisons between Balogun’s sending off and Messi’s foul in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria, which didn’t lead to a red card: “For me, neither are red cards.”
Messi didn’t even receive a yellow card for a foul on Algerian defender Aissa Mandi in Argentina’s group stage win. The 2022 World Cup winner scored a hat-trick in that game, but some argue he deserved the same punishment as Balogun, given the similarities between the two incidents.
Halsey defended the decision to send Balogun off because the replays show his studs make contact, even if accidentally. He did, however, opine that Messi’s challenge on Mandi was “far worse” while speaking to The Sun Football on X:
“If we go back to Argentina vs Algeria, a challenge by Messi. That challenge by Messi on Mandi, he had no chance of playing the ball; it’s a poor challenge. He rakes his studs down the back of the Algerian player’s calf.”
He added: “For me, that was far worse than the one we saw with Balogun, which VAR should have recommended a review because it was a clear and obvious error by the match official.”
Balogun will now miss the USA’s Round of 16 clash with Belgium on Tuesday (July 7th) through suspension. He may even have his ban extended if FIFA’s disciplinary panel believe the challenge on Muharemovic warrants more than the one-match ban.
Fans were quick to recall Messi’s challenge in the aftermath of Balogun’s red card, and some feel the Argentina captain had been handed preferential treatment. A side-by-side replay of both incidents shows significant similarities, raising questions about FIFA officiating and inconsistencies.
Some viewers agree with Halsey and feel Messi’s challenge looked even worse than that of the American frontman, who had been enjoying a superb campaign. One fan wrote on X: “Messi went unpunished for his. He didn’t even get a yellow card. Balogun did even less than Messi and still got a red card.”
British broadcaster Piers Morgan made his feelings known on social media, posting images of the two fouls. He captioned it: “Same tackle. One (Balogun) gets a red card. The other gets no punishment at all. Must be nice being Lionel Messi.”
Some fans have gone as far as to suggest “corruption” and “favouritism” shown towards Messi. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner will be in action for the reigning world champions when they face Cape Verde in the Round of 32 on Friday night.
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