Rio Ferdinand fires back at Liverpool fans as he doubles down on stance that Ibrahima Konate should have been sent off against PSG

Rio Ferdinand has risked further backlash from Liverpool fans by insisting that Ibrahima Konate should have been sent off in the Reds’ 1-0 win over PSG on Wednesday.

Konate was caught the wrong side of Bradley Barcola as he went through on goal in the 25th minute, and appeared to barge the forward in the back.

The referee waved away PSG’s appeals for a foul, and the incident was cleared by VAR after a lengthy check to see whether the last-man challenge was worthy of a red card.

Ferdinand was on co-commentary for TNT Sports, and admitted he was baffled at how Konate had escaped punishment, but the majority of Liverpool fans disagreed and took to social media to criticise the Manchester United legend.

After looking back at Konate’s challenge since the match, Ferdinand remains convinced the French defender was fortunate not to see red.

On the latest episode of Rio Reacts, Ferdinand said: ‘Anywhere else on the pitch, it’s a foul. It’s a foul, 100 per cent. Why does that always happen?

Konate appeared to barge Bradley Barcola in the back when he was through on goal

The incident was checked and cleared by VAR, much to Ferdinand’s dismay

‘If he went shoulder to shoulder, Konate, and barged each other and then the opponent falls over, I get it. He shouldered him in between the numbers on his back.’

Ferdinand doubled down on his stance, having been adamant at the time that Konate should have been sent for an early shower.

‘That’s a foul,’ Ferdinand claimed as replays were shown of the controversial clash between Konate and Barcola. ‘And that’s in his back, that’s a foul. It’s a red card. If that’s not a red card, I’ll be amazed.

‘And it will be a shame if it does go down to 10 against 11 in that sense, because you want the best players playing it equally in the 90 minutes.’

Ferdinand continued to vent his frustration with the officiating at half-time, as he added: ‘I can’t believe how lucky Liverpool are here. How has VAR not picked it up?’

Konate being allowed to remain on the pitch proved a pivotal moment in the match, as Liverpool’s 11 men survived a PSG onslaught largely thanks to a spectacular display from goalkeeper Alisson.

They then hit PSG with a sucker punch in the 87th minute as substitute Harvey Elliott fired past Gianluigi Donnarumma to give Liverpool a lead to take back to Anfield for next week’s second leg.