Neil Mellor has offered his sympathy with referee Craig Pawson during Liverpool's win over Everton on Saturday.
The match official was in the thick of the action during the Merseyside derby as he sent Ashley Young off during the first-half before controversially letting Ibrahima Konate off the hook for a second bookable offence.
The incidents didn't stop there for Pawson as he waved play on after Nathan Patterson and Luis Diaz tangled in the box but did give a penalty, with the help of VAR, after Michael Keane handled from the Liverpool attacker's cross.
Gerrard and Henderson disappointed as Liverpool legends face new low in Saudi
I am staggered by Everton referee theory that Liverpool fans can only laugh at
Mohamed Salah would go on to convert from 12 yards before sealing the points deep into stoppage time after a counter-attack from the Reds. The focus has remained on the South Yorkshire official following his display at Anfield which has led to various claims from the likes of Alan Shearer and Michael Ball.
Former Reds forward, Mellor, reasoned with Pawson for initially missing the handball from the outstretched arm of the Everton defender. But he wasn't too kind with the length of time that it took the VAR officials in Stockley Park to come to a decision.
He tweeted on X: "I wondered why the ref hadn’t spotted such a blatant handball. But his view wasn’t great and this was a good example of VAR working well to assist him.
"Not sure it needed to take over 2 mins tho (sic) But he got the help and it was the correct decision."
The win means that Liverpool have not lost a game that the 44-year-old has taken charge off since the 3-2 defeat to West Ham United in November 2021. Before then, their last two disappointments
Read on liverpoolecho.co.uk