11 months ago
211 Dermot Gallagher believes Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty after an incident involving Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard in Saturday’s game.
Liverpool were forced to settle for a point at Anfield over the weekend after Mohamed Salah cancelled out Gabriel Magalhaes’ opener.
Jurgen Klopp’s men did have a huge shout for a penalty waved away in the first half though after Martin Odegaard appeared to handle the ball.
The Norwegian star slipped inside the Arsenal penalty area and his arm fell onto the ball. But the appeals for a penalty were turned down by referee Chris Kavanagh.
The incident was checked by the VAR but they decided to stick with the on-field decision.
PGMOL have since explained the decision and it was ultimately ruled that Odegaard’s arm was ‘moving towards the body’.
But former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes Liverpool should’ve been awarded a penalty.
Gallagher shares verdict on Odegaard handball incident in Liverpool vs Arsenal clash
“I will say my first reaction not seeing this angle, was that he’s fallen, he’s slipped and his arm’s touched the floor,” Gallagher told Sky Sports. “But when you see that he clearly doesn’t.
“He slips, does his slip negate an offence? No. Does he move his arm towards the ball? The argument from the VAR was he makes his body smaller.
“But as you see here, by making his body smaller he traps the ball. So, I think the more understandable decision would be to give a penalty.”
The former ref was then asked if the decision should have gone Liverpool’s way and he responded: “I think so.”
It’s fair to say that Liverpool fans were baffled by the decision over the weekend as it appeared to be a clear handball.
Yet, with a lack of consistency in handball decisions, it’s becoming less and less clear what warrants a clear handball.
Decisions seem to vary every week and may would argue that the handball rule has never been as unclear as it is today.
The post ‘I will say’: Dermot Gallagher now shares whether Liverpool should’ve been given a penalty vs Arsenal appeared first on TBR Football.
