London (AFP) – Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren claims Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku deliberately kicked him in the face in Saturday’s Premier League clash at Anfield.
Lovren was involved in a first-half collision with Lukaku that ended with the Liverpool star falling to the turf and holding his face after the Belgian’s boot appeared to make contact with his head.
Lukaku was not punished by referee Martin Atkinson at the time and on Monday it was confirmed the United forward will face no retrospective action.
Croatia international Lovren remained unimpressed with the incident when he was quizzed on Monday ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League fixture against Maribor on Tuesday.
“I made a tackle there. I just felt he was over me and he could move away but to be honest my point of view is that he did it on purpose,” Lovren said.
“Even if he did it normally he would apologise after that but I saw he was nervous during the game so maybe that was also the reason.”
While he was frustrated by Lukaku’s actions, Lovren refused to say if he felt his rival should have been punished by the authorities.
“That happened on the pitch and it is over. I cannot change it and no-one can change it so that is what I am thinking about,” he said.
“This is not my decision. I cannot say I am disappointed but it is what it is. We need to move on. That is football, part of the game.”
