Liverpool fans questioned another key referee decision during our 3-2 defeat to Brentford, but a former referee has insisted the right decision was made.
Keith Hackett, ex-PGMOL chief and FIFA official, believes Simon Hooper was right not to award us a penalty in the first half when Cody Gakpo went down under pressure from Nathan Collins.
The incident took place just before Brentford’s second goal, with replays showing minimal contact between the Dutch forward and the Bees captain.
Keith Hackett explains why Liverpool didn’t get the penalty
Speak with Football insiderHackett said Hooper’s position on the pitch meant he had the perfect view to assess the situation.
“Referee Simon Hooper was ideally positioned to detect if there was any contact to award a penalty.” Hackett explained.
“Frankly, there is no clear evidence that there was actual contact and therefore VAR rightly did not intervene without that evidence.”
The ex-referee praised the referees for following due process and added: “These decisions are so much more credible when the referee is close to the game to accurately assess what has happened.”
It’s a statement that’s unlikely to satisfy us after what felt like another big decision against Liverpool.
Steve McManaman shared this view and also felt that the right decision had been made, although the angles presented were far from decisive.
However, the official Premier League X account later confirmed: “The referee’s decision not to award a penalty to Liverpool was checked and confirmed by VAR, which ruled that no foul had been made by Collins on Gakpo.”
Liverpool’s battle continues amid frustration
That decision proved crucial as just seconds later Brentford doubled their lead.
Despite Milos Kerkez scoring his first goal for the club just before half-time and Mo Salah scoring late, we could not avoid a fourth straight league defeat.
Arne Slot has already admitted that teams have done that “found a strategy” to expose us defensively, but moments like these haven’t helped either.
With Dominik Szoboszlai once again showing his quality and growing influence, and Salah ending his drought, there are at least positives to build on despite the disappointment.
It’s moments like these that underline why Liverpool must remain focused as we look to rebuild confidence and consistency after a summer of big changes.
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