Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb has claimed that Michael Oliver made the right decision by not awarding a 98th-minute penalty to Liverpool against Manchester City when Jeremy Doku caught Argentine midfielder Alexis Mac Allister high on the chest with a tackle during their Premier League match at Anfield earlier this month.
The controversial decision left Reds manager Jurgen Klopp fuming as his side missed out on a huge opportunity to win the game as a result of the call, but Webb believes VAR was correct in affirming the on-field decision.
Refs' chief Howard Webb insists that Michael Oliver made the right decision by not awarding a 98th-minute penalty to Liverpool against Man City earlier this month.
Webb also believes VAR was correct in affirming the on-field decision. pic.twitter.com/9XaK5dOj30
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 20, 2024
Former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys cannot believe what the PGMOL chief has said, taking to social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) to slam his reaction.
Are we surprised? Howard Webb has lost all credibility now. Why not just admit that this was a foul? Try reading law 12 Howard. No-one @FA_PGMOL has got the bollocks to take Michael Oliver on. That in itself is dangerous. pic.twitter.com/ufaq8Zb9zI
— Richard Keys (@richardajkeys) March 20, 2024
The match ended 1-1 after a 50th-minute penalty from Mac Allister cancelled out an early goal from John Stones, but Liverpool should have been awarded another penalty as Doku clearly fouled the Argentine.
A victory for the Merseysiders would have seen them retain their spot at the top of the Premier League table, but the two dropped points as a result of the draw means they are currently behind Arsenal on goal difference on the log after 28 games.
It is a decision which could end up hurting Liverpool at the end of the 2023-24 campaign given how fierce the three-horse title race has been this term, and PGMOL has to do better.
The Reds return to Premier League action after the international break on March 31 when they host Brighton & Hove Albion, and Klopp will be desperate for his men to return to winning ways following the Man City draw and FA Cup elimination at the hands of Manchester United on Sunday.
With the quadruple no longer possible, Liverpool will concentrate on winning the Premier League and Europa League, and they have been drawn against Atalanta in the quarter-finals of the competition.
They face Sheffield United, Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers in their remaining league fixtures of the season after playing the Seagulls, and they will fancy their chances of picking up the points needed to clinch the title.
