Liverpool fans were left furious when they weren’t awarded a penalty in their Premier League clash against Manchester City, and Howard Webb has now explained why.
The Reds had already scored from the spot to level the game when Jeremy Doku raised his boot into the chest of Alexis Mac Allister attempting to win the ball. The incident was waved off by Michael Oliver, and VAR agreed with the on-field decision.
Webb explained: “I think it’s one of those for sure if the referee gives it on the field, it would have been a ‘Check complete’ by the VAR.
“And equally, having not given it, it’s also ‘Check complete’. You hear Michael Oliver say the ball’s in between two players going together. The ball is too low to head. Doku lifts his foot to play the ball, and he does make contact on the ball.
“And yes, we know there’s some contact on Mac Allister as well. Mac Allister comes into him. Mac Allister is not really playing the ball either. So, I understand why it’s split opinion.
“I think it would have been ‘checked complete’ either way. Not wanting to to re-referee the game in situations that are not really clear, which is what we think the VAR is for in this situation. The VAR stays out of it. I think that is what we would we would expect.”
Webb then explained how clarity is key with decisions “of this magnitude”. He added that Oliver didn’t have all the information in this situation, but VAR didn’t see it as a clear and obvious error – as it could have gone either way.
“So on that basis, the VAR, working to that high threshold kind of followed the kind of the right course in not getting involved.”
However, he continued: “Towards the end of the game, maybe players in some situations will look to use contact to go down. Sometimes that’s not what happens in this case, but you need to be aware of of the way that players might behave in the later stages of the game, hence the reason that you need that level of of certainty.”
Liverpool and City ended the match all even, keeping the top three tight in the title race. Arsenal top the pile on goal difference ahead of the Reds, with City a point behind ahead of their showdown against the Gunners next Sunday.
