Liverpool’s record signing Olivia Smith “is probably going to get hurt” if the “treatment she is getting” from opponents continues to go unpunished by officials, says manager Matt Beard.
The 20-year-old scored her third league goal on Friday night to help Liverpool defeat Brighton 2-1 in the Women’s Super League, but Beard claims she received a knock to the ribs in the second half.
Prior to Friday’s game, according to stats provided by Opta, Smith had been fouled 20 times, the most of any Liverpool player this season and second only to West Ham forward Viviane Asseyi’s 21 in the WSL.
According to Beard, the club sent video footage to Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMGOL) in December to detail what they thought were unacceptable levels of foul play.
He says it has become “clear and obvious” that opponents are targeting Smith and she is “not being protected” by officials.
“I don’t think we have had a response. We sent the clips in just before Christmas”, Beard added.
“It was the same as always]against Brighton], getting lumps kicked out of her. She deserves a lot of credit. We sent clips into]former referee] Rebecca Welch and the PGMOL to show the treatment she is getting.
Olivia should accept it as a compliment, I said, but there is only so much she can accept. Everyone can see it clearly.
She is likely to suffer harm if it isn’t treated at some point. They should be penalised. The rules are the rules”.
Smith, who joined the club last June from Portuguese side Sporting CP for £210, 000, said: “It gets hard to not lose your head when that’s happening in every single game.
” It’s not just in a game like this. I try my best to stay cool because there is only so much I can do.
“I’ve got used to it in the past couple of games, especially in this league. It’s probably the biggest league in the world so it’s a compliment”.
PGMOL have been contacted for a response.
Related topics
- Football
- Women’s Football
Source: BBC
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