‘That is a genuinely appalling decision’: Gary Lineker SLAMS call from VAR Craig Pawson and referee Kevin Friend to award Diogo Jota a late penalty against Crystal Palace to help Liverpool seal controversial 3-1 win
- The decision to hand Liverpool a penalty against Palace has angered pundits
- Diogo Jota collided with Crystal Palace keeper Vicente Guaita late on
- Referee Kevin Friend did not give it but after looking at the VAR monitor, he did
- Liverpool were holding onto a narrow 2-1 lead when the decision went their way
The decision to award Liverpool a penalty late on against Crystal Palace has been blasted by pundits who called it ‘appalling’ and a ‘shocker.’
As the game entered the final minutes, Liverpool held a narrow 2-1 lead as home side Crystal Palace pushed for an equaliser.
Liverpool had lead 2-0 thanks to first-half goals from Virgil van Dijk and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain but a second-half strike from Odsonne Edouard gave Palace a chance.
Liverpool were awarded a controversial spot kick late on in their game against Crystal Palace
With the game entering the final minute of normal time, Liverpool were awarded a controversial penalty.
Diogo Jota collided with Crystal Palace keeper Vicente Guaita but the contact appeared to have been caused by the Portuguese player.
Referee Kevin Friend initially did not give the spot kick but following a word in his ear from VAR referee Craig Pawson, the on-field ref went to look at the pitch-side monitor.
After a couple of replays he turned to point towards the spot and Fabinho duly converted to put the tie beyond Palace’s reach.
The decision however has been heavily criticised especially from Match of the Day host Gary Lineker who described it as ‘appalling.’
‘That is a genuinely appalling decision,’ he said on Twitter.
Referee Kevin Friend consulted the pitch-side monitor before awarding the spot kick
He was supported by his BBC colleague Jermaine Jenas who said it was a ‘shocker.’
‘Another absolute shocker from VAR, our standard of refereeing is so bad’ the former midfielder tweeted.
It was not just in the football world that the refereeing was criticised as golfer Lee Westwood also tweeted his thoughts.
‘That’s a shocking decision! And I’ve backed Liverpool!’ he said.