Arsenal handed major Premier League title boost amid Liverpool VAR 'mistake' verdict
Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg believes that VAR made a mistake by not awarding Liverpool a late penalty against Manchester City in their clash on Sunday. The game between Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool and Pep Guardiola's Man City was a big one in the Premier League title race, with the thrilling match at Anfield ending in a draw.
That result means it is Arsenal who top the pile heading into the international break, with both Liverpool and City in FA Cup action this weekend. City had the upper hand in the first half of the contest at Anfield, leading with a close-range goal from John Stones.
However, Liverpool came back strongly in the second half. Alexis Mac Allister equalised with a penalty after Darwin Nunez was fouled by Ederson. The Reds kept pushing and believed they should have been awarded another penalty in stoppage time when Jeremy Doku caught Mac Allister with a high boot.
Referee Michael Oliver waved away appeals though and VAR confirmed the decision. Reds boss Jurgen Klopp disagreed with the decision and suggested all football fans knew it should have been a penalty. He said: «This situation on all positions on the pitch is 100% a foul and it’s a yellow card. He hit the ball but he can only hit the ball because his foot was right there. If the ball is not there, he kills him. It’s as easy as that. It’s a penalty for all football people on the planet.»
In his Daily Mail column, though, former referee Clattenburg, who is now a referee advisor for Nottingham Forest, criticised VAR. He wrote: «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.
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