Liverpool fans’ sense of injustice over their defeat at Anfield on Sunday will be compounded by footage from the tunnel during half-time.

Arsenal triumphed 1-0 courtesy of a 16th-minute Kai Havertz goal, but the main talking point came five minutes later when Jurrien Timber pulled Alexander Isak’s shirt inside the penalty area and somehow avoided any sanction.

The failure of referee Andy Madley and VAR Stuart Attwell to award a spot kick caused widespread fury, with Jamie Carragher screaming at the officials to ‘do your job‘ and Steven Gerrard describing the situation as ‘an absolute embarrassment‘.

Madley seen joking with Gabriel inside Anfield tunnel

As if that inexplicable oversight wasn’t galling enough for Liverpool fans, there has now been footage shared of an exchange between Madley and Arsenal defender Gabriel in the Anfield tunnel at half-time.

In a clip posted by @LFC_Oman on X (via the Daily Briefing), the referee appears to tell the Brazil international: “Gabriel, be careful, yeah? You have already got two fouls.”

The whistler is then seen smiling and laughing after that quick word to the 28-year-old, followed by the two men sharing a momentary fist bump as the players ran out onto the pitch.

Not very professional at all from Madley

Maybe it was nothing more than a harmless exchange between Madley and Gabriel, but in the context of how the match went on Sunday, this clip will only add fuel to the fire from a Liverpool perspective.

If indeed the referee dished out a brief heads-up to the Arsenal defender, it could be perceived as him deviating from the neutrality he’s supposed to maintain, and the manner in which those involved were smiling after his words makes it seem like they were being too friendly with each other.

Also, that it was swiftly followed by a fist bump makes it seem even less professional from the official in particular, and he should’ve exercised more awareness in recognising that there were 60,000 or so home fans at Anfield already on his case over the failure to award a penalty for Timber’s blatant foul on Isak.

Madley should be less interested in sharing friendly chats with one team’s players inside the tunnel at half-time and more focused on his own performance and what he could’ve done better on the day.

This footage will only add to the prevailing sentiment among football fans in this country that refereeing standards at Premier League level leave an awful lot to be desired, especially for a division which is often proclaimed with chest-out bravado as the best domestic league in the world.

You can view the footage of Madley speaking with Gabriel below, via @LFC_Oman on X: