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During Monday night’s entertaining 3-2 victory for Liverpool, the Toffees were denied two key
penalty decisions in injury time after consultation with the video ref, handing the reds a crucial 3
points in the race for the title.
After Liverpool took the lead in the 13th minute, through a bending effort from 25 yards out from
Premier League Golden Boy Mohammad Salah, Jurgen Klopp’s men quickly extended their lead
to a 2 goal advantage in the 16th minute, after an Ashley William’s howler allowed Salah to race
through the Everton backline and slot past a helpless Jordan Pickford, making it 2-0 to the reds.
A 45th minute goal briefly restored hope for the struggling Blues, who preceding the match sat
at rock bottom of the form table, but order was rapidly restored shortly after half time when
Brazilian sensation Roberto Firmino produced a sublime effort from 40 yards out, lobbing the
stranded Everton goalkeeper, and seemingly sending the Reds back to Anfield with maximum
points in the bag. However, late drama followed, and in the 85th minute, Toffees’ record signing
Cenk Tosun rounded the Liverpool goalkeeper, and slotted the ball into an open net, following a
cross-pitch pass from veteran Wayne Rooney. With the game poised at 3-2, in the 89th minute,
tricky winger Yannick Bolasie weaved his way into the Liverpool box, where he went down
under the clumsy challenge of Virgil Van Dijk. The referee initially pointed to the spot, but after a
long deliberation with the 5th official, the ref signalled to the VAR system, and proceeded to
review the footage. After an agonising 5 minutes for both sets of rival fans and players, the
official indicated No Penalty and waved a goal kick to Liverpool. Two minutes later, and with
Sam Allardyce’s men still fuming with the controversial decision, history repeated itself, after
midfield dynamo Gana Gueye fumbled his way into the Liverpool box, where he was tugged
down by full back Nathaniel Clyne. The Blues instantly swarmed the referee, who once again
signalled a tv, indicating a video referee review. The man in the middle, Mike Dean, who is now
surely an even more unpopular man in the blue side of Merseyside, signalled another goal kick
for Liverpool, and shortly after blew the final whistle, signalling the end to a dramatic, tense, and
controversial match.
Post-match, Sam Allardyce had strong words for the officials, and about the infamous VAR
system:
‘ We have been denied two clear-cut penalties in a game we dominated, and deserved the
victory in. At this stage of the season, and the position we are in, this could have a serious effect
on the season and in turn this great club’s future, all because of a couple rash decisions from
the referee, even after looking at the footage. What is the point in having video replays when the
officials aren’t good or brave enough to make the right call anyway. I’m fuming right now and the
only thing I can say is that our fortunes with the refs needs to change quickly, or a lot of people
will be questioning their integrity for a long time’.
The FA have stated that their will be ‘serious repercussions’ as a result of Allardyce’s post
match comments, branding them as ‘disgraceful’ and ‘unfair’. It is yet to see what punishment
will be handed out to Allardyce, but previous similar incidents have resulted in hefty fines, or
even banning orders for other coaches.
The use of VAR has been widely criticised this season, with numerous high profile incidents
being decided by the use of the technology. Social media users have been quick to vent their
frustrations regarding the flaws of the technology following the derby:
@BaileyEdwards ‘Why on earth has this technology been implemented when it is clear the
referees and officials have not been trained well enough to use it effectively?’
@TarantBramleyEverton ‘I can't believe it! This technology has cost us our beloved club.
Thanks a lot FA!’
On the other hand some users have been quick to point out that many of the angry fans were
calling for the technology to be implemented on the first place :
@ConnorSimsLiverpool ‘ Love that all those Everton fans are moaning when most of them were
wanting VAR introduced after last season. So hypocritical!’
We have reached out to relevant authorities, including the FA, who have declined to comment
on the recent incidents.