‘This is the problem…’ – Mark Clattenburg voices emphatic verdict on Liverpool penalty shout
Mark Clattenburg has said that the VAR should’ve been more proactive in guiding the on-field referee over a major incident in Liverpool’s 1-1 draw against Manchester City on Sunday.
The Reds should’ve had a penalty deep into stoppage time when Jeremy Doku caught Alexis Mac Allister on the chest, a moment which was missed by Michael Oliver and referred to Stuart Attwell in VAR, only for the latter to somehow decide that no intervention was necessary.
In his column for the Daily Mail on Sunday evening, the former top-flight official insisted that a foul should’ve been given and that the man on VAR should’ve done more when given the opportunity to correct the on-field decision.
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Clattenburg wrote: “Liverpool should have been awarded a stoppage-time penalty against Manchester City but this is the problem in the Premier League right now – referees are making mistakes in matches and not being helped by their VARs.
“The ball bounces up. Alexis Mac Allister moves towards it. Jeremy Doku’s foot is high. He catches Mac Allister in the chest.
“Outside of the box, this would have resulted in a free-kick, every day of the week. Just because it happened inside the box does not suddenly transform it into a clean challenge when Mac Allister might be left playing connect the dots on his chest on Monday morning.”
Clattenburg added that the onus was on Attwell to intervene, concluding: “This is where the frustration lies – we have seen similar incidents this weekend where Stockley Park should have told their colleagues on the ground that they had missed a penalty or a red card but didn’t.
“Everybody could see this was a penalty for Liverpool. Except VAR, that is, and it is that official’s opinion who matters most in this major moments of matches.”
Clattenburg might’ve left Liverpool fans perplexed a week ago when, in his role as referees’ analyst for Nottingham Forest, he vowed to contact the PGMOL over the manner in which play restarted prior to Darwin Nunez’s stoppage time winner at the City Ground.
However, the 48-year-old is right to ask why Attwell didn’t even send Oliver to the pitchside monitor over Doku’s challenge on Mac Allister yesterday. We can understand the on-field official missing it, but those with access to all sorts of replays in Stockley Park have no excuse.
The annoying irony is that we often see VAR intervening over incidents where their input should be minimal, yet when there was legitimate reason for them to act on Sunday, they basically abdicated their duty, reaching the baffling conclusion that the Belgian was playing the ball first.
Unfortunately, this is another moment in a huge game which has gone against Liverpool, following on from the disgrace of Luis Diaz’s disallowed goal at Tottenham and Martin Odegaard getting away with a blatant handball at Anfield.
Liverpool in big games this season.
Don’t give me any of that Klopp farewell nonsense… pic.twitter.com/kGJ6vnyvBg
— EPL Bible (@EPLBible) March 10, 2024
We like to think that refereeing decisions will even themselves out over the course of a full season, and a team’s finishing position is ultimately where they deserve to end up, but it shouldn’t be a case of multiple wrongs needing to balance out in order to make a right.
Clattenburg is correct – VAR officials need to do better when it comes to helping their on-field colleagues.
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