Andy Robertson Liverpool 'elbow' storm goes bizarro amid former Arsenal man's madcap linesman defence

It was the incident that caused jaws across the globe to loosen as punters dotted around the world asked 'Did the linesman really just elbow Andy Robertson?"

That appeared the case during half-time of the Liverpool's pulsating clash with Arsenal and now the PGMOL will investigate Constantine Hatzidakis over the alleged incident which sparked apoplexy from the Scotland skipper. Hatzidakis has been roundly condemned, however, leading former referees Keith Hackett and Mark Clattenburg making a case for the official – the former claiming Hatzidakis could have acted out of fear while the latter claimed Robertson was the one doing the provoking.

But neither put it down to the linesman being a flincher. That was the flimsy case offered up by former Arsenal academy and now talkSPORT pundit Adrian Clarke – who admits he's keen to see the match official get a second chance as he voiced his sympathy.

Speaking on the Laura Woods breakfast show, he said: "I personally wouldn't blow too much up about it. If Robertson isn't there then it doesn't happen, does it? I think more than anything it was a little bit instinctive from the (linesman), maybe he thought he was going to get clattered into .

"You know what it's like, I'm a little bit of a flincher, sometimes you flinch, you put your arm up and maybe I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt. But you can't have it, you can't have referees hitting players or the linesman hitting players. I do expect a punishment but I don't think he should be completely ostracised from the game."

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