Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has backed Anthony Taylor’s decision not to award Brighton a penalty in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool.
The controversy arose when Kaoru Mitoma’s shot deflected off Virgil van Dijk’s thigh and then struck his hand. Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi was visibly angry that a penalty was not given and received a yellow card for his protests.
However, Gallagher, speaking on Sky Sports’ ‘Ref Watch,’ supported the on-field decision, stating that it would be surprising if a penalty had been awarded in that situation.
“The evidence is there for everyone to see. It clearly strikes his thigh, his arm is by his side, it bounces at a few feet and hits him, there’s no doubt about that, but you would be absolutely stunned if a penalty was given for that.”
During the game, Liverpool did receive a penalty of its own when Dominik Szoboszlai was fouled by Pascal Groß. Mohamed Salah successfully converted the spot-kick, but Groß managed to avoid a red card despite seemingly denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
According to the ECHO, the VAR officials determined that it was not a case of denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity because Szoboszlai was moving away from goal inside the penalty area.
