1 week ago
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Former Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick expressed his belief that more contact was needed in the penalty area for referee Tim Robinson to justify awarding Brentford a penalty against Liverpool.
Liverpool's loss to the Bees was riddled with contentious refereeing decisions. Dango Ouattara had put the hosts ahead within just five minutes, before Cody Gakpo's penalty claims were dismissed at the Gtech Community Stadium, merely a minute prior to Kevin Schade doubling Keith Andrews' side's lead.
Milos Kerkez managed to claw one back before half-time, setting the stage for a thrilling second half. Match referee Simon Hooper was replaced by Robinson during the interval after suffering an injury in the first half.
The substitute official initially awarded Brentford a free-kick on the edge of the box following a challenge from Virgil van Dijk on Dango Ouattara.
However, the video assistant referee stepped in to highlight that the challenge occurred on the line of the penalty area, leading to a penalty which was successfully taken by Igor Tiago to reestablish Brentford's two-goal lead.
"After review, the challenge by Liverpool No. 4 is on the line," Robinson told the crowd following the VAR review. "My final decision is penalty."
Carrick was asked for his opinion on the matter while appearing on Saturday's edition of Match of the Day. "It's really, really close," Carrick commented.
"Initially, I thought it was outside the box in real time. I wasn't sure about the contact from where we were watching it.
"I have to say, when you stop it, it's on the line and it's very close.
"If it's on the line, it's a penalty.
"My little one, from a referee's point of view, historically, it needs to be more [contact] inside the box to give a penalty than it does outside the box to get a free kick.
"If the referee is thinking it's outside the box, I can give a free-kick and it's not the end of the world, whereas a penalty is a bigger decision.
"It's taken away from him because it's in the box anyway.
"The penalty was well taken. Cool, calm, collected. Fantastic finish and sent them on their way."
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