Howard Webb admits Liverpool should have had a penalty for Martin Odegaard handball in Arsenal clash
Referee chief Howard Webb has acknowledged a mistake was made with Martin Odegaard’s handball against Liverpool.
The incident came in the December 23 Premier League tie at Anfield, and could well have cost the Reds points in their quest for the title.
The match finished 1-1, with the controversial moment happening in the 26th minute while the Gunners were a goal ahead.
Mohamed Salah picked up a loose ball from a free kick, and tried to enter the Arsenal penalty area, only to have his path blocked by Odegaard.
Replays showed that the ball quite clearly hit the Norwegian’s arm, but he had slipped in the same movement.
Referee Chris Kavanagh initially waved away the penalty shouts, and during an edition of Match Officials: Mic'd Up, the referee can be heard saying ‘his hands on the floor’ as his reasoning for not awarding Liverpool a spot kick.
The VAR is then heard saying: “For me, he’s falling down, he’s moving his arm towards him, so it’s check complete for me.”
The assistant VAR then says: “From the brief look I’ve seen, yeah agreed.”
Responding to the clip, Professional Game Match Officials Limited [PGMOL] director Webb agreed with Michael Owen that it should have been a penalty, but explained the matchday officials’ rationale.
“The referee on the field recognised that Odegaard had slipped and saw his arm go towards the ground,” he began.
“We’ve talked in the past about supporting arms, if somebody falls and breaks their fall with their arm it’s all very natural and that’s a well-established concept.
“In this situation though there’s an important difference to a normal player falling, this is not just Odegaard accidentally falling to the ball. He does slip, his arm does go out, but then he pulls his arm back in towards his
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