“We will look at the video again and maybe try to find out from referees and experts if we have a case for an appeal,” said the Liverpool manager. “I do not want a frivolous appeal. Cole has an unblemished record, with no red cards and very few yellows. He is not the type of player who goes in for blood-curdling tackles.
“I do not think he dived at the player but in front of the ball. I think Joe’s legs got caught up with the player’s legs and could have twisted his knee, so it was a relief to see him come out for the second half.
“Joe was devastated. His debut for Liverpool, desperate to do well, not playing at the top of his game but trying to get to that level and he gets sent off. He was saddened, not least because it put us in a difficult position.”
Cole was not the only player distraught in Hodgson’s dressing room, with Hodgson adding that Pepe Reina, whose last-minute own goal cost his side a point, had taken his error “very hard.”
There was, at least, some solace for Cole, with Arsène Wenger also defending a player he is believed to have considered bringing to the Emirates this summer.
“He is not one I would like to record as a guy who tries to hurt people,“ said the Frenchman. “That is not his style. He was maybe rushed a bit into his tackle and kicked him accidentally.”
Wenger signed a three-year contract extension at Arsenal on Saturday and, though he admitted he had turned down other offers before signing, confessed he could not imagine working at any other club. “There is only one way I can show my commitment to the club, so I signed the contract I was offered. I did not put a gun to anyone’s head,” he said.
“Joe was devastated. His debut for Liverpool, desperate to do well, not playing at the top of his game but trying to get to that level and he gets sent off. He was saddened, not least because it put us in a difficult position.”
Cole was not the only player distraught in Hodgson’s dressing room, with Hodgson adding that Pepe Reina, whose last-minute own goal cost his side a point, had taken his error “very hard.”
There was, at least, some solace for Cole, with Arsène Wenger also defending a player he is believed to have considered bringing to the Emirates this summer.
“He is not one I would like to record as a guy who tries to hurt people,“ said the Frenchman. “That is not his style. He was maybe rushed a bit into his tackle and kicked him accidentally.”
Wenger signed a three-year contract extension at Arsenal on Saturday and, though he admitted he had turned down other offers before signing, confessed he could not imagine working at any other club. “There is only one way I can show my commitment to the club, so I signed the contract I was offered. I did not put a gun to anyone’s head,” he said.
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