Referees’ chief Howard Webb says Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty in their 1-1 draw with Arsenal for a Martin Odegaard handball.
Mohamed Salah’s flick-on hit Odegaard’s hand in the penalty area in the first half at Anfield on 23 December.
Referee Chris Kavanagh did not award the hosts a penalty and the video assistant referee (VAR) reviewed the incident and confirmed the decision.
“The game expects a penalty in this situation. I would agree,” said Webb.
When the incident happened, Kavanagh said: “No, his hand’s on the floor. His hand’s on the floor.”
The incident is then checked and VAR David Coote says the ball “clearly hits his arm”, then after looking at another angle says: “So he is falling down, he’s moving his arms in towards him, so it’s check complete for me.” The assistant VAR Lee Betts then agrees.
Speaking on Match Officials Mic’d Up, a Premier League Productions programme which analyses VAR decisions from previous gameweeks, Webb says: “The referee on the field recognised that Odegaard had slipped and saw his arm go towards the ground.
“This is not just Odegaard accidentally falling on to the ball. He does slip, his arm does go out, but he actually pulls his arm back in towards his body, which is when the ball makes contact with the arm.
“The VAR looked at that aspect. He felt it was a case of Odegaard trying to make himself actually smaller by bringing the arm back towards the body. That is the element that’s important here.
“Whether it’s instinctive or deliberate, he gets a huge advantage by bringing the arm back towards the ball. All the feedback we got afterwards was very clear.
“This is one that didn’t reach the right outcome on that basis.”
It is not the first time Webb, the chief refereeing officer for officials’ body PGMOL, has admitted an officiating mistake this season.
Manchester United keeper Andre Onana escaped any punishment despite punching Wolves striker Sasa Kalajzdic on the opening weekend of the season, before Simon Hooper did not allow Manchester City a clear advantage last month against Tottenham.
Another controversial decision came when VAR ruled out a Luis Diaz goal for Liverpool against Spurs – an incident that sparked weeks of debate.
More to follow.