Liverpool youngster escapes red card after 'punching' Man United player

Liverpool youngster Luca Furnell-Hill escaped a red card after appearing to punch his opponent.

On Tuesday night, Liverpool U18 were up against Manchester United in the U18 Premier League.

During the affair, Furnell-Hill appeared to punch United player Ethan Wheatley in the face.

The referee failed to send Furnell-Hill off, with replays showing clear contact was made on Wheatley. You can watch the incident below.

A punch from the Liverpool player but NO RED CARD! pic.twitter.com/zM349Q1YmL

— academyarena Utd (@academyarenaUTD) January 30, 2024

Wheatley was on the score sheet alongside Jayce Fitzgerald, Ethan Williams and James Scanlon.

Meanwhile, Trent Kone-Doherty, Kieran Morrison and Michael Laffey were the scorers for the visitors.

Reacting to the incident on social media, one fan said: “Omds that Liverpool u18 fella just right hooked the united guy in the face??”

Another tweeted: “A punch from the Liverpool player but NO RED CARD!”

A third fan added: “Disgusting behaviour and he has done it twice.”

Someone else wrote: “He should be released from the academy that Liverpool player.”

A fifth commented: “Disgusting… Has to be punished after…”

On the back of their 4-3 victory, United continue their dominance of the U18 Premier League, the Red Devils currently have 42 points having won 14 out of 14 matches.

This season, the United youngsters have scored 46 goals and have only conceded nine.

They are running away at the top of the table as they hold a 17-point lead over rivals Manchester City, who are second.

Meanwhile, Liverpool will stay in third place with 24 points after the defeat by United.

Speaking last month, United U18 manager Adam Lawrence praised former United defender Phil Jones for the impact he’s had on the team: “It's been great with Phil, he is with us weekly. He spends time with the under-14s and under-18s as well so he gets to experience like the different age groups of the academy.

“But for us, he's been great. He's obviously from the club in terms of his background and what he's done here and I think as well for the players, to not just learn from him in terms of the areas of his game and his knowledge, but also some of the off the field stuff and what they're going through - whether it be team selection, how you prepare for games, diet, nutrition.”