Alisson Becker fined £8,000 for post-match incident

Alisson Becker has been hit with an £8,000 fine by the Football Association after losing his cool in the tunnel area and lashing out at the fourth official’s numbers board following the final whistle.

The Liverpool goalkeeper’s frustration boiled over after a controversial late penalty was awarded against him for a foul on Neco Williams. The challenge came after the defender had already got his shot away, with contact arriving only once the ball had gone. Alisson reacted furiously to the decision and carried that anger with him as he left the pitch.

On his way back to the dressing room, he took his frustrations out on the electronic substitution board, which had already been a source of irritation. Moments earlier it had malfunctioned, delaying a triple substitution that Andoni Iraola was trying to make and adding to the sense of chaos around the incident.

The FA confirmed the charge and punishment in a brief statement: the goalkeeper was accused of acting “in an improper manner around the tunnel area after the final whistle.” Alisson accepted the charge and received what is described as the standard penalty for this type of offence.

To add another layer to the controversy, the Key Match Incident (KMI) Panel has since ruled that referee Sam Barrott made the wrong call in awarding the penalty in the first place.

The fine stands. So does the sense that this flashpoint will linger in conversations about officiating standards for some time yet.