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Basle defender Behrang Safari has hit back at Brendan Rodgers' suggestion he dived to get Lazar Markovic sent off on Tuesday.
Safari went down in a heap under minimal contact from Markovic, who was harshly dismissed for raising an arm, and the Liverpool boss said the Basle man 'should be looked at' for his reaction.
But the 29-year-old refutes claims he dived as Basle drew with Liverpool to secure their progression at the Premier League club's expense.
Liverpool v Basle - player ratings
"I was bleeding from my mouth," Safari told Sportbladet. "I wouldn't have gone to ground if he hadn't hit me. I am not the kind of player who dives.
"It was a bit strange, I didn't realise that it was a red card at first. I thought the referee had blown his whistle because it was a head injury and I thought I was going to give the ball to the Liverpool players afterwards.
"But then I noticed that the Liverpool players were angry with me."
