PGMOL chief Howard Webb has spoken out about a clear and obvious error made by match officials in a Liverpool match earlier this season, which was corrected by VAR
Liverpool have been told that VAR was correct to give a penalty against the side in their draw with Leeds United, after questions over how “clear and obvious” the overturn was. It came in a match where the Reds simply collapsed, which has become a worrying pattern for Arne Slot.
At times, it has taken a simple shift of momentum for the champions to be right up against it, which was certainly the case at Elland Road. After taking a commanding two-goal lead, a penalty call turned things around for Leeds when Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate dived in for a needless challenge on Wilfried Gnonto as it appeared that the ball was going out of play.
While no penalty was given on the field, the referee was encouraged to overturn his decision, giving a spot kick to the home side, which Dominic Calvert-Lewin tucked away with ease.
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That spurred on a comeback, but there were still some doubts as to whether the penalty should’ve been given in the first place, with questions over the ball still being in play.
PGMOL chief Howard Webb spoke about the incident on Match Officials Mic’d Up, as he said: “When I look at the video, for me, it’s a clear penalty.
“What’s really important here is that when the contact is made by Konate on Gnonto, Konate doesn’t play the ball, he makes the contact, he takes Gnonto down, but really importantly on this is the ball is still in play at that moment.
“And you’ll hear on the comms, Anthony Taylor the referee, saying the ball is already out of play and that’s important of course because if the ball is out of play when that contact happens, it can’t be a penalty kick.
“So, VAR looks at it, is able to slow it right down, break it down and see, when does the contact happen? How does that relate to where the ball was at that time?
“It was still in play, it’s a clear foul, and therefore the intervention by the VAR in this situation is a good one, it demonstrates the real value of having VAR to rectify what was a clear and obvious error made on the field.”
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In the end, it seems as though the right call was made, but Slot wasn’t in agreement with the decision when speaking to the press after the match.
“A VAR intervention that leads to a penalty,” the Liverpool boss started in his post-match press conference. “The first chance they had, which was the 2-2 because the 2-1 wasn’t a chance. I think the ball is already out, there was contact, so he gave a penalty.”
In the end, it was a telling moment in the match, with Leeds equalising moments after scoring from the penalty spot, as part of a chaotic match.
While Dominik Szoboszlai appeared to win it late on, an Ao Tanaka strike condemned Liverpool to another disappointing collapse away from home.
That was another tough match within a season filled with difficult moments, with Mohamed Salah’s outburst after the game only piling on further concerns.
