Former Manchester United, Inter Milan and Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has strongly criticized referee Chris Kavanagh following Liverpool's 3-0 defeat to Manchester City in the sixth round of the English Premier League.
As reported by İdman.Biz, the controversy centered on Kavanagh's decision to send off Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch in the 62nd minute of the match, played on October 11.
Ibrahimovic was furious with the decision, arguing that the referee had effectively determined the outcome of the encounter.
"Chris Kavanagh should be suspended from refereeing. He literally killed the game. That is not a foul, it has never been a foul worthy of a card. There was no need to do that, but he chose the team he wanted to win. Premier League refereeing is terrible and full of inconsistencies," Ibrahimovic was quoted as saying by Lord Zeus on social media platform X.
The dismissal proved to be a turning point, with Manchester City taking full advantage of their numerical superiority.
Just three minutes after Gravenberch's red card, Erling Haaland opened the scoring in the 65th minute. Jeremy Doku doubled City's advantage in the 68th minute before Rayan Cherki completed the 3-0 victory in the 78th minute.
All three goals came after Liverpool had been reduced to ten men, adding further controversy to Kavanagh's decision.
The result handed Manchester City an emphatic away victory over one of their biggest Premier League rivals, while Ibrahimovic's comments reignited debate over refereeing standards in English football.
