Liverpool suffer again from VAR decision in controversial moment

In yesterday's pivotal match of the eighteenth round of the English Premier League, Liverpool hosted Arsenal at Anfield. The fate of the match was sealed in the first half. Gabriel opened the scoring in the fourth minute, and later, on the 29th minute mark, Mohamed Salah equalized. The match concluded in a 1-1 draw.

However, a contentious moment during the game sparked debate. In the 20th minute, Arsenal's captain, Martin Odegaard, slipped and, while falling, inadvertently swiped his hand, making contact with the ball inside the penalty area. Despite a VAR review, the decision was made not to award a penalty.

Unable to conceal his disappointment, Liverpool's manager, Jurgen Klopp, expressed:

"The penalty situation was a strange one. I don't know if the referee saw it, but you look at it and I'm not sure how you can say it's not a penalty. I would like somebody to explain to me how that is not handball, but I don't know how he can do it.

I'm not saying the referee saw it because I have no idea where he was at that moment. But that's a different question. But when somebody is sitting in front of the monitors, how can he not come to the conclusion that maybe a penalty should be given? Look at it."

It's important to note that even Arsenal defender William Saliba admitted that his team might have been fortunate not to be penalized by the referee.

Recalling another instance of refereeing decisions against Liverpool, in the match against Tottenham on September 30th, the referee disallowed a goal from Luis Diaz, misinterpreting the VAR assistant's comments and signaling an offside position.

As a result of this draw, Arsenal managed to retain the top spot in the Premier League, leading Liverpool and Aston Villa by a solitary point.