Liverpool penalty decision was "utter garbage" as Premier League statement made
Liverpool secured three points at Crystal Palace but a decision by the referee and VAR to wave away a penalty appeal has angered a former Premier League official
by Samuel Meade · The MirrorCrystal Palace's failure to be awarded a penalty for an incident involving Marc Guehi and Virgil van Dijk has been labelled as "utter garbage" by former Premier League referee Keith Hackett.
The Eagles slumped to another defeat meaning they're yet to win any of their seven games this term. Diogo Jota's first-half strike was the difference but those at Selhurst Park will feel aggrieved they weren't given a second-half penalty.
A ball into the box was headed towards and Alisson and, as Guehi attempted to race in to put the pressure on, Van Dijk with two hands grabbed the defender's arm. The ball sailed into the hands of the Liverpool goalkeeper, and Guehi was likely never getting to the ball.
However the level of the contact had Palace boss Oliver Glasner appealing and opinion is split on whether or not it was worthy of a penalty. Hackett was adamant it was and blamed the VAR for not intervening.
He told the Telegraph : "Of course, referees will miss things and, therefore, Simon Hooper is not entirely to blame despite being at fault for making the initial mistake. But for the VAR to not intervene was frankly pathetic. The whole point of VAR is to correct mistakes, not ignore them for sake of convenience or some other unknown reason."
A statement from the Premier League explaining the decision read: "The referee’s call of no penalty for the challenge by van Dijk on Guéhi is checked and confirmed by VAR - deeming that the challenge was not sustained holding and had no impact on the play."
That reasoning has angered Hackett even more with the ex-official stunned that Van Dijk's intervention to stop Guehi challenging Alisson was not seen as "sustained holding". He also criticised the league for producing statements that clearly contradict the replay.
"Pure garbage," he said. "Everyone can see it was, in fact, sustained holding and it did impact play – even if Guehi still had some work to do to reach the ball. Putting out statements like that just confuses everyone when the footage quite clearly shows the opposite."
Arne Slot has now won all but one of his seven league games at Liverpool, taking them to the summit. He was adamant that a penalty could never have been given, citing the fact that the Palace centre-half was never going to reach the ball regardless.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Sky Sports deal
Sky Sports launches 'lowest price' Premier League package
£43 (was £52)
Sky has slashed the price of its Sky Sports, Sky Stream, Sky TV and Netflix bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £216 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
With Ultra HD included at no extra cost, football fans can enjoy the 2024/25 season with crystal clear picture quality.