Liverpool fined for surrounding referee during Man City defeat

Liverpool have been fined £37,500 by the Football Association (FA) for an incident that saw their players surround the referee in their recent 4-1 Premier League defeat at Manchester City.

The incident occurred in the 34th minute of the game at the Etihad Stadium with the score at 1-1 when City midfielder Rodri committed a cynical foul on Cody Gakpo.

The Spaniard had already been booked for a similar infringement just minutes earlier, but referee Simon Hooper refrained from showing a second yellow, which would have meant a red card.

Diogo Jota, Fabinho, Virgil van Dijk and captain Jordan Henderson approached the official to appeal the decision, which has led to the FA fining the club.

According to a statement from The FA, Liverpool admitted it had “failed to ensure its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and/or do not behave in a way which is improper”.

The FA announced on Thursday it would be taking “no further action” against assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis after he appeared to aim an elbow at Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson in last Sunday’s draw with Arsenal.

Liverpool’s next game sees them travel to Leeds United on Monday.