Liverpool vs Man City penalty call slammed as expert lays out VAR blunder
Liverpool were denied a late penalty against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon when Jeremy Doku caught Alexis Mac Allister with a high boot in the box
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp pleads his case to Michael Oliver after his team were denied a penalty against Manchester City
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp pleads his case to Michael Oliver after his team were denied a penalty against Manchester City
Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has claimed VAR made a mistake in not awarding Liverpool a late penalty against Manchester City during their thrilling match on Sunday afternoon.
The game between Jurgen Klopp’s and Pep Guardiola’s teams was seen as a possible title decider. However, the draw leaves the title race wide open as both teams put on a great show at Anfield.
City had the upper hand in the first half and took the lead thanks to John Stones’ close-range goal. However, Liverpool came back strong and equalised just two minutes into the second half when Alexis Mac Allister scored a penalty following a foul on Darwin Nunez by Ederson.
Liverpool kept pushing and believed they should have been given another penalty in stoppage time when Jeremy Doku caught Mac Allister with a high boot. Referee Michael Oliver did not award a spot kick and VAR confirmed Doku had played the ball.
Klopp disagreed and after the game suggested all football fans knew it should have been a penalty. In his Daily Mail column, Clattenburg, who is now a referee advisor for Nottingham Forest, criticised VAR for the decision.
“Liverpool should have been awarded a stoppage-time penalty against Manchester City but this is the problem in the Premier League right now referees are making mistakes in matches and not being helped by their VARs,” he wrote.
“The ball bounces up. Alexis Mac Allister moves towards it. Jeremy Doku’s foot is high. He catches Mac Allister in the chest.
“Outside of the box, this would have resulted in a free-kick, every day of the week. Just because it happened inside the box does not suddenly transform it into a clean challenge when Mac Allister might be left playing connect the dots on his chest on Monday morning.
“Referee Michael Oliver missed it in real-time at the end of an exhausting and exhilarating contest and so it was on VAR Stuart Attwell to intervene. This is where the frustration lies we have seen similar incidents this weekend where Stockley Park should have told their colleagues on the ground that they had missed a penalty or a red card but didn’t.”
The draw leaves Liverpool second behind Arsenal on goal difference. City are a point behind both teams in third.
Leave a Reply