Former Premier League referee explains why Liverpool were fortunate over Brentford penalty incident
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has explained why Liverpool could have conceded a penalty against Brentford.
The Reds recorded a 4-1 victory over Brentford in the Premier League clash on Saturday. Goals from Darwin Nunez, Alexis Mac Allister, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo helped secure the three points at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Liverpool took a 3-0 lead against Brentford before Ivan Toney got a goal back for the home side in the second half. Gakpo rounded off the scoring to secure the three points, but there was a moment where Brentford thought they had another opportunity to get back into the game.
In the 71st minute, when the scoreline was 3-0 in favour of the Reds, Brentford had a penalty appeal after Andy Robertson collided with Toney. Toney appeared to control the ball before Robertson ran into the Bees striker, but referee Michael Oliver chose not to award a penalty.
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A VAR check determined that no appeal should be awarded. Now Gallagher has explained why the decision was made, and why Liverpool may be fortunate that Oliver did not award a penalty for Brentford.
"It is a foul [by Robertson]. Toney holds his ground, he has the ball in front of him," Gallagher told Sky Sports.
"Sometimes as a defender, you cannot make a challenge, you have to hold off, he cannot win that ball. If he was side-by-side, I could understand it. He [Robertson] is not, his shoulder barges into his back and I think it is a penalty.
"The VAR feels it is not a clear and obvious error - he may well think it is a penalty, but he does not think it is enough
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