Klopp slams referee, VAR for denying Liverpool penalty but awarding Arsenal’s
The match referees were blamed by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp for his team’s loss to Arsenal, claiming they disregarded a handball by Gabriel.
In Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Gunners at the Emirates, the German was not pleased with the refereeing.
He believes that the winning penalty for Arsenal was soft and should not have been given.
After 58 seconds of play, Arsenal took the lead thanks to Gabriel Martinelli, but Darwin Nunez gave Liverpool the lead back.
Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal the lead again just before halftime, but Jurgen Klopp’s team pulled one back in the second period.
After Thiago was found to have fouled Gabriel Jesus in the box, the review reveals that it was a minimal contract, and Saka converted the resulting penalty kick to earn the home team all three points.
Prior to that, Liverpool had a penalty of their own refused to them for what appeared to be a straightforward handball by Gabriel Magalhaes.
The German coach admitted that the game was close and that it could have gone either way in an interview with Sky Sports following.
“And if there is a penalty, I believe it to be a very, very light one.
“Like the entire case, I’m not even sure whether there is touch when you see it.
There is a slight wait when Gabriel Jesus descends, so it wasn’t a band and straight down.
But Mr. England, the VAR, believed it was unnecessary to send the referee to the screen. That is unchangeable.
He perceived things slightly differently in the opening period, when Gabriel’s hand was not in a natural place and Diogo [Jota] wanted to cross the ball, admittedly not the hardest cross.