3 hours ago
17
Chris Richards maintains that justice prevailed as he aimed a pointed jab at VAR following Crystal Palace's triumph over Liverpool on Saturday.
The Reds appeared to have salvaged a point when Federico Chiesa found the net in the 87th minute, but Eddie Nketiah's dramatic 97th-minute winner condemned Arne Slot's men to their first Premier League reverse of the campaign.
The United States defender bore responsibility for Chiesa's leveller, presenting the ball to the Italian with a wayward headed clearance from Ryan Gravenberch's delivery. Nevertheless, the goal sparked debate as VAR examined whether Mohamed Salah had handled Gravenberch's original cross before the ball reached Richards.
The match officials concluded there was no 'conclusive evidence' that the Egyptian had breached the rules.
The Premier League clarified their reasoning via social media on their Match Centre X platform, stating: "The referee's call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed there was no conclusive evidence that Salah handled the ball in the build-up."
Yet this hasn't prevented Richards from questioning the decision on his personal social media channels, as he quote-retweeted a post featuring a freeze-frame of Salah's supposed handball prior to Liverpool's equalizer.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
"I knew I wasn't seeing things," he posted on X. "#Justice #thanksEddie".
The defender subsequently took to Instagram to celebrate the victory, posting an image of Palace's players celebrating Nketiah's decisive strike alongside the caption: "Saturdays at Selhurst with Eddie. Brilliant performance from the boys".
Liverpool's defeat saw its advantage at the Premier League summit cut to just three points following Palace's triumph over the Reds, which lifted them into second place.
Arsenal has the opportunity to narrow the gap on Slot's side when it makes the journey to Newcastle United on Sunday, where three points would see the Gunners move into second and reduce the margin behind the defending Premier League champions to two points.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Liverpool ECHO by clicking here.
English (US) ·