On Sunday afternoon, Jeremy Doku caught Alexis MacAllister with a high boot in the box, denying Liverpool a late penalty against Manchester City.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp pleads his case to Michael Oliver after his team were denied a penalty against Manchester City (Image: Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has claimed that VAR made a mistake by not awarding Liverpool a late penalty against Manchester City during their thrilling match on Sunday afternoon.
The match between Jurgen Klopp’s and Pep Guardiola’s teams was viewed as a potential title decider. However, the draw leaves the title race wide open, as both teams put on a fantastic performance at Anfield.
City had the advantage in the first half, taking the lead thanks to John Stones’ close-range goal. Liverpool, on the other hand, fought back and tied the game just two minutes into the second half when Alexis MacAllister scored a penalty after Ederson fouled Darwin Nunez.
Liverpool persisted 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 did not award a penalty kick, and VAR confirmed Doku played the ball.
Klopp disagreed, saying after the game that all football fans knew it should have been a penalty. Clattenburg, who is now a referee advisor for Nottingham Forest, criticized VAR’s decision in his Daily Mail column.
“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,” he wrote in a blog post.
“The ball bounces upward. Alexis Mac Allister approaches it. Jeremy Doku’s foot is high. He strikes Mac Allister in the chest.
“Outside the box, this would have resulted in a free kick every day of the week.” Just because it happened inside the box doesn’t mean it’s a clean challenge when Mac Allister is left playing connect the dots on his chest Monday morning.
“Referee Michael Oliver missed it in real time at the end of an exhausting and exciting match, so it was up to VAR Stuart Attwell to intervene. This is where the frustration lies; we’ve seen similar incidents this weekend in which Stockley Park should have informed their teammates on the pitch that they had missed a penalty or received a red card but did not.”
Liverpool is now second on goal difference to Arsenal following the draw. City is one point behind both teams in third place.
