Mohamed Salah thought he had won a penalty for Liverpool in the first half against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon, but the penalty was overturned by VAR.
Mohamed Salah saw a penalty overturned on Saturday (Image: PA)
Manager Mike Dean has made it clear that VAR was right to overturn Liverpool’s penalty in the first half of Saturday’s game against Crystal Palace. Just 23 minutes into the game, Mohamed Salah appeared to be fouled by Brennan Johnson inside the Palace box, which referee Andy Madrid was quick to point out.
However, after reviewing the footage, VAR quickly intervened, with Neil Davies asking the referee to approach the pitchside monitor and take another look. While Madrid were on screen, Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday pundits were quick to deliver their verdict for the fans watching alongside them at home.
Manager Tim Sherwood explained the incident: “This is a departure from Mo Salah. He darted forward and I don’t think he should be given that. Brennan Johnson insists there was no contact with Mo Salah and if he did, it would be out of bounds.”
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“I think he dived. Johnson dived and Salah jumped over and he jumped straight over. As soon as he hit the floor, he went straight up towards Mo Salah.”
Dean, a former referee, added: “I don’t think it was a penalty kick. I think Johnson went to get the ball, Salah flicked it away, Johnson touched the ball and the ball hit Salah.”
“I don’t think Salah was aiming for a penalty. I think he lost his balance and went down. So for me it shouldn’t be a penalty. And if anything, it’s probably off the mark.”
Madrid eventually reversed their decision and gave Dean Henderson a dropped ball to collect, but Premier League Match Center issued an explanation. They wrote in X: “Following a VAR review, the referee overturned the original penalty award against Liverpool.
Penalty decision overturned by VAR (Image: AFP/Getty Images)
“The referee announces: “After review, Crystal Palace number 11 has touched the ball. My final decision is to drop the ball to the goalkeeper, no penalty.”
This happened as Liverpool eventually secured a 1-0 lead from open play at Anfield, when Alexander Isak found the back of the net 35 minutes into the match. Andy Robertson also doubled down five minutes later, firing a low shot past Henderson from close range.
Immediately after Liverpool’s second goal, Palace pulled one back through Daniel Muñoz, but Florian Wirths helped Liverpool to a 3-1 win at Anfield. Isak was tasked with leading the Reds’ front line immediately after recovering from a broken leg caused by Ugo Ekitike’s recent injury.
Ekitike ruptured his Achilles tendon in last week’s Champions League quarter-final against PSG and faces being sidelined for up to nine months as a result.
As it stands, Isak is the only pure centre-forward in the first team, but Arne Slott could also choose to use Kodi Gakpo in midfield, as he has done at times this season.
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