Darwin Nunez’s headbutt on Joachim Andersen in Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace has been branded as “stupidity” by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville.
The Uruguay international was shown a straight red card on his home debut at Anfield after headbutting the Danish defender in the 57th minute.
It means the 23-year-old, who joined Liverpool for a club-record fee of £85m this summer, is set to face a three-match suspension and miss fixtures against Manchester United, Bournemouth and Newcastle.
Neville says Nunez’s ban will serve as a “steep learning curve”.
“The story is Nunez,” Neville told Sky Sports.
“Not just the first headbutt but also the second one. To go back and go again. You usually get players coming together but he’s properly gone for it. There’s no history of that at Benfica. He’s not been sent off there.
“That’s the stupidity of tonight. He’s a young player, obviously.
“I’ve been sent off myself against Manchester City for an altercation with Steve McManaman [in 2004] but it’s a steep learning curve for him. That’s the big story tonight.”
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher added: “I cannot believe how he thinks he’s possibly going to get away with that. The referee is looking at the incident and is looking straight at it.
“There’s no other option for the referee obviously and he could not have had a better view.
“As he’s walking back to the bench there’s the realisation. He knows what he’s done and he would have been sitting in the dressing room absolutely devastated. Rightly so. He’s let himself down and he’s let his team-mates down.
“You talk about points dropped as well. If he remained on the pitch I’m sure he would’ve possibly gone and helped them to win the game.”
