Liverpool were handed a late penalty to seal their 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday, but fans were left divided over whether it should have been given.
The Reds were 2-1 up but clinging on as they edged towards full-time at Selhurst Park, when a stunning pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold sent Diogo Jota through.
Jota dithered with the ball slightly, and under pressure from Joel Ward, knocked it past Vicente Guaita and out for what many expected to be a goal kick.
But with Guaita sliding out and connecting with Liverpool’s No. 20, referee Kevin Friend presided over a lengthy break as VAR checked whether it could have, in fact, been a penalty.
Friend was told to head to the pitchside monitor, and eventually the Reds were awarded the spot-kick – which Fabinho converted to ensure the three points.
So…
…was it a penalty? ? pic.twitter.com/G8KsDpmNY1
— This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) January 23, 2022
It was a controversial decision from the officials, with Palace supporters ending the game with chants of “sh*t referee,” and as Liverpool fans took to social media, it became clear there was no consensus over whether it should have been a spot-kick.
For many, it should not have been a penalty…
That’s not a penalty
— keith costigan (@KeithCostigan) January 23, 2022
Very fortunate.
— L4 (@L4Kop10) January 23, 2022
That's never a penalty
— Jonathan Higgins (@Jhiggins3) January 23, 2022
https://twitter.com/Chris78Williams/status/1485278559556059141
We needed that but it's never a penalty in a universe where I want to watch football.
— Andy Kelly (@AndyK_LivNews) January 23, 2022
Never a pen.
— Steven Scragg (@Scraggy_74) January 23, 2022
Never a pen that hahahahahahaha
— Joey Burns (@ChorizoPenguin) January 23, 2022
In agreement with lots of #lfc fans in my timeline questioning if that's really a penalty. A very surprising decision.
— David Phillips (@lovefutebol) January 23, 2022
But others noted the contact with Guaita that warranted a penalty…
If that's a defender, it's a penalty, and it should be for a goalkeeper too. Normally goalkeepers get away with, though…
— Matt Addison (@MattAddison97) January 23, 2022
https://twitter.com/paul_tomkins/status/1485278328420548609
You can’t argue Pickford doing Virgil being a pen or red if today isn’t. Just cos Jota didn’t get an ACL, he was still stopped by the keeper. #LFC
— Graeme Kelly (@GraemeKelly1) January 23, 2022
Why does it matter if Jota was going to reach it though? Keeper took all of the man and none of the ball. https://t.co/m8JhKIDAyK
— Sam McGuire (@SamMcGuire90) January 23, 2022
Objectively it was 100% a foul on Jota but if anyone asks if it should have been a penalty then I'm saying it shouldn't have been because it makes it 1000 times funnier. pic.twitter.com/7WxX5aAZ1N
— Joey Burns (@ChorizoPenguin) January 23, 2022
Clumsy and awkward-looking from both Guaita and Jota, but it's probably a penalty that. Ward also lucky Jota doesn't go down earlier.
— James Nalton (@JDNalton) January 23, 2022
So what did Klopp say?
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Klopp – unsurprisingly – sided with the officials.
“I didn’t see it back, but I don’t think I have to,” he said.
“Because VAR thought it was a penalty, the ref saw it as a penalty.
“The Crystal Palace people thought it was no penalty, I understand, but I think that’s the proof you need.”
And how about Patrick Vieira?
The Palace manager had a right to feel aggrieved, regardless of whether or not it was a deserved penalty, due to the manner in which it was given – particularly due to the length of the VAR check.
“I don’t even want to talk about it, because I don’t want to be disrespectful to the referees,” he told reporters in his post-match press conference.
“I can’t understand how he managed to give that penalty. I looked at it in every single angle, and I still don’t understand how that can be a penalty.
“That decision took our hope to get back into the game and to get the points away.
“That was a really poor decision by the referee.”
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