John Aldridge goes on VAR rant after 'awful' decision almost cost Liverpool

Liverpool legend John Aldridge was left fuming at VAR during the Reds' 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, where Alexis Mac Allister was the late hero

Arne Slot and Alexis Mac Allister after Liverpool beat Nottingham Forest.(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Liverpool legend John Aldridge was furious with VAR during the Reds' 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, with Alexis Mac Allister having a goal ruled out a few minutes before his winner.

Mac Allister deflected a clearance into the goal when Ola Aina tried to boot the ball away, but that was canceled for a handball offense. The Argentine then reacted quickest inside the box when a Virgil van Dijk header was parried into the center.

In a series of X posts, Aldridge said the decision to chalk off Mac Allister's first goal was "one of the most corrupt decisions I've seen in my 67 years on this earth," despite it being correct.

Mac Allister admitted that the ball hit his arm in his post-match interview, and intent is irrelevant when the ball ends up in the back of the net directly as a result of such contact.

Nevertheless, Aldridge claimed it was a "disgrace to football" and an "awful decision" from the VAR official, Paul Tierney.

"They need calling out," he added. "That decision in football terms is a total disgrace! Yes I said corrupt and I'll stand by that. Every ex-player would be shocked at that being disallowed."

Alexis Mac Allister is mobbed by his Liverpool team-mate after his dramatic winner at Nottingham Forest(Image: Andrew Kearns - CameraSport via Getty Images)

The rules around handball are clear, and Mac Allister found the back of the net a few minutes later anyway.

"It did [hit my elbow], but I feel like it's a bit harsh," Mac Allister admitted. "It's a bit of both, but I understand the rules. I thought I would get another one.

"I told Hugo [Ekitike] that this would be our goal, and I'm glad that it went in. We need to analyze what we did well and what went wrong. The intensity wasn't there, but we did what we did to win."

"Is it his first goal? Oh, I wasn't aware of that," Arne Slot said when he was asked about it.

"I think what he needed is what he showed in the last six, seven or eight games — a run of games where he's getting back to his usual level that he showed so many times last season.

"And he had that level also in the first half of the season but it went a bit with ups and downs, as the team went in terms of performances with ups and downs.

"But I see much more consistency recently — not only in Macca's performance but in the team performance and many individual performances. I think it's always nice for a player to score, especially if it's in extra time of extra time.

"So, we needed this goal, we needed that win to be on the right side of things once in a while because we've been so, so unlucky this season. And today for the first time, at least it felt to me for the first time, we've been a bit lucky this season."