Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett believes Liverpool were “absolutely lucky” after Cody Gakpo’s tumble inside the area led to the opening goal in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Bournemouth.
Ahead of half an hour, AFC Bournemouth midfielder Lewis Cook was awarded a penalty by referee Darren England for a foul on Gakpo. VAR chief John Brooks confirmed
that Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola had accepted his side’s slight contact with Gakpo should have been a penalty, while also criticising the standard of refereeing, drawing comparisons to previous incidents.
Arne Slot’s side faced a tricky task with their trip to the Vitality Stadium on Saturday (1 February), with Bournemouth unbeaten in their last 12 games in all competitions.
Even so, Liverpool were able to take a 1-0 lead in the match thanks to a penalty from Mo Salah, although Hackett believes they should not have been able to do so.
Former referee Mike Dean described the incident simply: “There was obviously a foul.” But Hackett disagreed: “
I think Liverpool were incredibly lucky in the situation,” the former top-flight referee until 1994 told เว็บพนันออนไลน์ UFABET สมัครง่าย โปรโมชั่นมากมาย Football Insider
. “I watched it very closely. The Liverpool striker tripped over himself and fell to the ground as a referee. ” You have to be 100 per cent sure if you are going to give a penalty,” he said.
“If there was contact, it was very minor and it was an accident. I never thought it would be a penalty.”