Brighton vs Liverpool ref watch: Three Darren England errors, Yankuba Minteh left fuming
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The Reds are desperately trying to reel in Manchester United and Aston Villa in the race to qualify for the Champions League next season, but their hopes took another blow when Welbeck turned home his second in the 56th minute.Liverpool’s latest defeat away at Brighton was their third in their last four league visits to the Amex Stadium, and Football Insider kept a close eye on the performance of referee Darren England during the game. ⚽ Liverpool Matchday ⚽ Team news, line-ups, expert previews, VAR verdicts, and tactical analysis for every Reds fixture. VISIT THE LIVERPOOL MATCH HUB MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES Yankuba Minteh unfortunate with early yellow cardYankuba Minteh was the first man into England’s book on Saturday afternoon, when he was cautioned for a late sliding challenge on Cody Gakpo.
The Dutchman had the ball in the Brighton half but was not in a particularly threatening position, although England still deemed his challenge to be sufficient for a caution. Had he brought Gakpo down in a more dangerous position, then a yellow card would have been unquestionable, but in reality, the Liverpool man was surrounded by bodies and had little room to work with regardless.Ibrahima Konate should have seen yellow in first halfMinteh was at the centre of the action throughout the game at the Amex on Saturday, as he also drew two fouls out of the visitors throughout the 90 minutes.One of those came in the 40th minute, when he burst away from Ibrahima Konate inside the Liverpool half, before he appeared to be dragged back by Konate on the edge of the box.
Minteh was left fuming with the referee, as he clearly felt that there was little difference between Konate’s challenge and his own that saw him go into the book.Konate’s challenge came in a much more dangerous area of the field than Minteh’s own caution had been, and as a result, it could certainly be argued that he was lucky to escape a card.Danny Welbeck unlucky with penalty appealWelbeck thought he would be presented with a golden chance to complete his hat-trick in the 72nd minute, when he was felled by Konate inside the Liverpool box. Danny Welbeck (12) has scored more goals than any other English player in the Premier League this season.Should he go to the World Cup? 👀 pic.twitter.com/tRMkH60uV5— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 21, 2026 View Tweet Konate threw an arm across the body of Welbeck before falling to the ground and appearing to drag the Brighton man down with him, preventing him from getting to the loose ball in the process.England waved away the appeals and VAR official Stuart Atwell took a similar view after a brief check, but it was certainly the type of moment that has resulted in penalties being given several times before. 🔴 Don’t Miss a Beat: Your Liverpool Insider Access Get the full story from Anfield and the AXA Training Centre with our dedicated expert hubs: Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Merseyside.