17 hours ago
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Liverpool has been told VAR reached the right decision in awarding a penalty against them during their Premier League stalemate with Leeds United, despite questions over how "clear and obvious" the overturned call truly was.
The controversial moment came in a match where the Reds collapsed against Leeds United, a worrying pattern that has developed under Arne Slot this season. It has taken just a simple shift in momentum for the champions to find themselves facing a degree of pressure, which was unmistakably apparent at Elland Road.
After establishing a commanding two-goal lead, a penalty decision swung the match in Leeds' favor when Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate dived in for a needless challenge on Wilfried Gnonto as the ball appeared to be going out of play.
While no penalty was given on the field, the referee was advised to overturn his decision, awarding a spot-kick to the Whites. Dominic Calvert-Lewin dispatched it comfortably. That triggered a comeback, but questions persist about whether the penalty should have been given in the first place, with doubt over whether the ball stayed in play.
PGMOL chief Howard Webb discussed the incident on Match Officials Mic'd Up. He said: "When I look at the video, for me, it's a clear penalty.
"What's really important here is that when the contact is made by Konate on Gnonto, Konate doesn't play the ball, he makes the contact, he takes Gnonto down. Really importantly on this is the ball is still in play at that moment.
"And you'll hear on the comms, Anthony Taylor the referee, saying the ball is already out of play and that's important of course. Because if the ball is out of play when that contact happens, it can't be a penalty kick.
"So, VAR looks at it, is able to slow it right down, break it down and see, when does the contact happen? How does that relate to where the ball was at that time?
"It was still in play, it's a clear foul, and therefore the intervention by the VAR in this situation is a good one. It demonstrates the real value of having VAR to rectify what was a clear and obvious error made on the field."
Slot took issue with the decision when addressing the media following the final whistle.
"A VAR intervention that leads to a penalty," Slot remarked. "The first chance they had, which was for 2-2 because for 2-1 wasn't a chance. I think the ball is already out, there was contact, so he gave a penalty."
As it turned out, this proved a crucial turning point in the match, with Leeds equalizing moments after converting the spot-kick during what was a frenetic encounter. Whilst Dominik Szoboszlai appeared to have clinched victory late on, an Ao Tanaka strike condemned Liverpool to another painful collapse away from home.
It represented yet another difficult outing in a season plagued with testing moments - with Mohamed Salah's post-match remarks only heightening concerns at Anfield.
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