Brendan Rodgers has slammed referee Bjorn Kuipers for his "awful decision" to red-card Lazar Markovic in Liverpool's costly 1-1 draw with Basel tonight.
The Reds bowed out of the Champions League after earning a point from their must-win game with the Swiss giants, with Rodgers's side playing some 30 minutes with 10 men.
Second-half substitute Markovic was dismissed by Kuipers on the hour mark after his flailing arm caught Behrang Safari, and the Northern Irishman admits to being furious with the Dutch official.
"I thought it was an awful decision. I thought the referee was disappointing on the evening to say the least. Markovic came on and was bright. He made a difference to the team, he was dynamic," Rodgers told ITV Sport.
"He's just taken a touch away, he's obviously got his arm up. If that's a sending-off you're going to get two to three sendings-off every single game. It was a really, really poor decision. I'm not even sure if the referee has seen it.
"I think he's seen the player hold his face and lie down but there's no way that was a sending-off."
Fabian Frei had fired Basel into a 1-0 half-time lead, before 10-man Liverpool rallied late on after Steven Gerrard equalised with 10 minutes remaining.
It was not enough, however, as Rodgers's side finished third in Group B behind Real Madrid and Basel, and will now drop into the Europa League.
Shane Callaghan
