Dirk Kuyt has claimed his fellow Liverpool forward Andy Carroll lost his composure at West Bromwich Albion due to a lack of protection from the referee, Martin Atkinson.
Kuyt was among several Liverpool players who sought to calm Carroll at The Hawthorns, where the towering £35m striker was infuriated by several decisions that went against him during his side's 2-1 defeat.
The Holland international said: "I thought the referee was right with the two penalty decisions but it appears that referees have problems with things our strikers are doing – it was the same with Fernando [Torres]. Every time they go up in the air, they seem to have free-kicks given against them and I don't think the way Andy was treated was very fair.
"It is very frustrating as you see strikers on other teams doing exactly the same thing yet they don't get punished. It's difficult to understand sometimes and referees need to look at the situation. That's why Andy was so frustrated during the game. He felt he should have got a couple of free-kicks. We spoke to him just to try and help him calm down."
Kuyt is expected to sign a 12-month extension to his Liverpool contract in the coming days. The club is also waiting to discover the full extent of Steven Gerrard's latest groin injury amid concerns he faces another extended spell on the sidelines having aggravated a problem in training on Friday.
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