Assistant Referee Constantine Hatzidakis faces no action after an alleged elbow on Liverpool’s Andy Robertson during a match against Arsenal and that is the right call.

• The FA decided not to take action against Constantine Hatzidakis for an apparent elbow on Andy Robertson during Arsenal vs. Liverpool match.
• The FA conducted a thorough review, including statements from Liverpool and PGMOL, and concluded no further action was necessary.
• Robertson’s grabbing of the official’s arm likely led to the accidental contact, and Hatzidakis should not be punished for it.

The FA have decided not to take action against Constantine Hatzidakis for his apparent elbow on Andy Robertson following a thorough review.

Despite an entertaining game of football between Arsenal and Liverpool at the weekend, one of the main talking points after the match was an apparent elbow by assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis on Liverpool defender Andy Robertson.

The FA confirmed they would investigate the incident, and that Hatzidakis wouldn’t officiate any games until their review was complete. But on Thursday, they announced that the official would face no further action.

An FA Spokesperson said: “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.

“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.”

https://twitter.com/footballdaily/status/1645104164807032833

There have undoubtedly been a variety of responses to this news, with Liverpool fans feeling particularly aggrieved by the lack of punishment for the official. But the decision makes sense to me.

Though the above TV angles don’t show it clearly, you can just about make out Robertson grabbing the official’s arm before it is raised.

It seems apparent that Hatzidakis was simply trying to get his arm out of Robertson’s grasp, catching the Liverpool man by mistake in the process.

Grabbing an official is against the rules, and Robertson’s grab comes hot on the heels of Aleksandar Mitrovic’s eight-match ban for a similar incident.

To escape with only a yellow card and an unfortunate bump from an elbow is lucky for Robertson.

On the other side, Hatzidakis should not be punished for accidental contact.

If the ‘elbow’ had been unprompted or deliberate, you’d certainly want him to receive a ban.

But an accident caused as the official tried to get free of the grasp of a player breaking the rules by grabbing him is not something we should be punishing.

It’s also possible the FA had access to other angles to show the whole incident more clearly, so ultimately we have to leave the decision to them.