After Liverpool lost to Josep Guardiola’s side, Craig Pawson and VAR caused controversy by disallowing Manchester City’s goal and intervening to send off Dominik Szoboszlai.
(Image: Karl Lesseen/Getty Images)
Mark Halsey has insisted referee Craig Pawson had “no choice” but to disallow what would have been Manchester City’s third goal in Sunday’s dramatic finale to their 2-1 win over Liverpool, despite huge backlash over his decision.
Liverpool chased after Bernardo Silva’s brace in the ninth minute, and Erling Haaland put City in front, setting up Alisson for a corner. City took the lead, Rayan Cherki’s long-range shot spilling towards goal, but Dominik Szoboszlai pulled Haaland back to prevent him from getting close to the ball. The Norwegian striker retaliated before both lost their footing just before the ball crossed the line.
However, Pawson opted to concede the goal after taking advantage of Szoboszlai’s foul on Haaland, but the decision was overturned when VAR intervened and recommended a reconsideration, giving the Liverpool midfielder a red card.
Fans and pundits alike have condemned the decision, but Halsey, who refereed in the Premier League for a number of years, explained why Pawson was right to change his mind.
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“Craig Pawson had no choice but to rule out what would have been Manchester City’s third goal against Liverpool,” Halsey wrote in The Sun. “Credit to Craig, he was waiting to see what would happen when Rayan Cherki sent the ball into an unprotected net in stoppage time with City leading 2-1.
“Dominik Szoboszlai pulls Erling Haaland back, but Craig is waiting to see if Haaland can still get to the ball. That’s not going to happen. So then when Haaland pulls Szoboszlai back, it’s up to the Liverpool players to stop the ball from going into the net.”
“There was no indication of any advantage. So once VAR John Brooks called Craig out, he had no choice. He had to consider denying the first attack, the scoring opportunity.”
“Craig was legally right. People will say, ‘Why didn’t he score?’ But Haaland’s pullback stopped the Liverpool player from clearing the ball.”
Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey says Pawson was right to disallow the goal and send off Dominik Szoboszlai (Image: Getty Images)
Halsey praised Pawson for following the rules of the game, but some questioned the outcome. Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville said after the VAR decision: “Talk about the killjoys. They just killed off one of the great moments of the season.”
Haaland himself sympathized with Szoboszlai, but told Sky Sports he understood why Pawson had to follow the rules.
“This will give him three games, but I feel sorry for him, he will get three games, only a goal, no red card.
“(But) it’s the rules, so that’s how it is. In the end, Cherki handed me the ball and he scored. That’s how it is.”
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