Liverpool were awarded a penalty against Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield, but VAR intervened and ruled there was no foul on Alexis Mac Allister.
Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister is given a penalty after being fouled by Willian Pacho (Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg says Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty against Paris Saint-Germain. The Reds looked set to be given a chance to return to Champions League action before the spot-kick was called off due to VAR intervention.
Alexis Mac Allister went down in the area following a challenge from Willian Pacho, but it was ultimately ruled not to be a foul. Maurizio Mariani pointed out the spot immediately after the Argentina international went down, but was told by VAR to consider the scenario again.
The Argentina international felt contact before going down in the 18-yard area. Mac Allister appeared to go down easily, but appeared to be defending the ball before the defender made contact.
“Every time we talk about VAR intervention, we talk about clear and obvious John, but when you look at Mac Allister’s foot contact… and people say it’s soft, there’s no wrong with that, there is contact,” Clattenburg said on commentary.
“If the referee awarded a penalty, I would expect the penalty to be awarded. If the referee had not awarded it, I would accept that VAR would not intervene, but if the decision on the field was a penalty, I would expect that penalty to be awarded.”
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Former Newcastle striker and Amazon pundit Alan Shearer couldn’t believe the decision had been overturned. He believes midfielder Mac Allister was well positioned to earn a foul inside the area.
“Mac Allister is also surprising me because he does a really good job of trying to protect the ball while inviting challenges from Pacho,” he said. “And I’m really, really surprised that once he tried to get the ball and didn’t get it and he actually made contact and the referee gave it to him, he overturned it.”
Not everyone was that surprised. Former Liverpool full-back Stephen Warnock believes Mac Allister’s fall was clumsy.
Referee Maurizio Mariani overturns original decision
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“I didn’t think it was a penalty,” he told the BBC. “Alexis Mac Allister went down awkwardly and the two players just linked up. Liverpool have to get back to their tempo of play.”
Liverpool dominated in the second period but were unable to close the two-goal gap they faced in the first leg. Instead, it was PSG who found the net.
Ousmane Dembele scored in the 72nd minute to extend the visitors’ lead on aggregate. It was the Frenchman who scored again in stoppage time following a clever pass from Bradley Barcola to seal their place in the last four of the Champions League.
Warnock believes PSG were simply on a different level to their Premier League opponents. “Liverpool threw everything at Paris Saint-Germain,” he said.
“Yes, PSG have ridden their luck sometimes, but this is the level that every European team wants to reach. This team is on a different level. They are great.”
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