Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai scored the winner from the penalty spot after VAR ruled that Florian Wirtz had been fouled by Inter Milan star Alessandro Bastoni.
Liverpool beat Inter Milan 1-0 on Tuesday night thanks to Dominik Szoboszlai’s second-half penalty, but a crucial second-half VAR call drew heavy criticism. The decision to award the Reds a spot-kick after they had secured three points has been described as a “scandal”.
Alessandro Bastoni pulled his shirt inside the box and Florian Wirths went down easily. While there was little debate about Italy’s touch, Germany’s reaction caused an even bigger stir.
Play initially continued, but VAR brought proceedings back for the referee to monitor the play from a pitchside monitor. After giving explanations to each captain, the official pointed from the spot and Szoboszlai scored the winning goal.
Former England manager Fabio Capello was stunned by the incident. “This is a scandalous penalty,” he said, according to Football Italia. “I don’t understand why VAR had to intervene when the referee saw everything and did the obvious simulation of throwing himself to the ground.”
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Capello also had plenty of support. “What a soft penalty!” former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock said live on the 5th. “Did they deserve that penalty? Probably not, but the fans won’t care.”
Inter midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan was furious, telling Prime Video: “I don’t know how they came up with a penalty that doesn’t exist, but this is football. We’re not happy. If we give a penalty like this, every contact in the box becomes a penalty.”
Former referee Mark Clattenburg was similarly surprised by the decision. “It was a tug on the shirt. But the shirt was pulled…the player fell down immediately after that,” he said.
“You know, this is the crazy thing about VAR. As football people, we all agree that this is not a penalty. And now they’re going to give this as a penalty because he had his shirt pulled and it was played in slow motion.”
Even Liverpool star Andy Robertson admitted it was “soft”. Although he believed the foul was given elsewhere on the pitch.
The Scotland international was frustrated after seeing Ibrahima Konate’s shot ruled out for a handball in the first half. “It’s a big result,” he said full-time.
“We knew we were in a tough spot against a team that was going through a good period. We needed to put up a fight and bite back. The clean sheet was crucial and then we went for the goals.”
“I think the handball for me took seven or eight minutes. If you’re going to do that, you have to stick to the decision on the field. You have to stick to that decision. The penalty looked soft, but it’s something that can be awarded elsewhere on the pitch.”
“We all needed it. We know that the results and performances weren’t good enough. It’s important for this club to qualify for the Champions League. It was a big result for all of us.”
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