Now, in true festive tradition, it’s time for a Christmas quiz.
A striker launches into a strong challenge against an opposing defender that doesn’t make contact with the ball and instead goes studs-first into the player’s shin.
What action do you take, bearing in mind the offender is the England captain?
If you said brandish a yellow card and issue a timid ticking off, give yourself a pat on the back.
READ MORE: Neville 'sure' about what Klopp will do after Robertson and Kane red card calls
READ MORE: Harry Kane speaks out on wild Liverpool challenge and makes Andy Robertson claim
Now, consider the situation of a defender taking a foolishly wild hack at an opponent when attempting to make a tackle on the touchline.
What should you do to the guilty party, considering he isn’t the England captain?
Well done if you decided to change your initial answer from issuing a yellow card to a red having had a chance to reassess the incident.
At least, that is, if Paul Tierney and VAR Chris Kavanagh are invigilating the examination given the evidence of what transpired here during a frantic, fractious and frenetic Premier League 2-2 draw between Tottenham Hotspur and an under-strength Liverpool.
Harry Kane was the relieved man having somehow escaped a sending-off for going straight through Andy Robertson, who was not so lucky when, with 13 minutes remaining, he was eventually sent for an early bath after a strong swipe at Emerson Royal.
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Debate over whether Robertson should have been dismissed – he could have few arguments – would have been rendered moot had Kane already been given his marching orders.
The Tottenham man, though, incredibly stayed on.
And throw in the truly inexplicable decision not to award a first-half penalty when Diogo Jota was shoved in the back when lining up a shot inside the area, it’s easy to see why the visiting side were bristling with a sense of injustice throughout much of an absorbingly daft game, Jurgen Klopp booked for losing his rag one time too many at Tierney.
Liverpool – missing nine senior players through coronavirus, illness or injury – deserve credit for, unlike others, refusing to play the postponement card against a Tottenham side whose lack of recent action was evident in a lung-busting display.
And this hard-earned point against the odds underlined not even some hopelessly hapless officials could dim the Reds’ desire for success this season. Only come the end of the campaign will its true value become apparent.
