Dermot Gallagher listens as Sky Sports star makes Liverpool-Forest VAR claim
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Liverpool IconLiverpool FC NewsFeaturesLiverpool FCLiverpool beat Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday in a game that saw the two most controversial moments of proceedings take place in second-half injury timeAlexis Mac Allister scored a late winner against Nottingham Forest(Image: 2026 MB Media)Dermot Gallagher was joined on Sky Sports' Ref Watch by former Premier League striker Jay Bothroyd on Monday as the pair discussed the controversial decisions that were made during Liverpool's win away to Nottingham Forest the previous day.Alexis Mac Allister thought that he had given Liverpool a 1-0 lead at the beginning of stoppage time when an attempted clearance by Forest defender Ola Aaina rebounded off the Argentina international and into the net, but that strike was chalked off following a VAR intervention after it was adjudged that the ball had struck Mac Allister's arm.Minutes later, Mac Allister scored again as he pounced on a loose ball inside the box after a header from Virgil van Dijk had been saved, and smashed it into the back of the net.READ MORE: Liverpool legend slams Arne Slot after what he saw against Nottingham ForestREAD MORE: Joe Gomez transfer latest as AC Milan gets rival in race for Liverpool defenderThe second goal was allowed to stand, despite a lengthy VAR check for offside against Van Dijk, as the semi-automated offside system eventually concluded that Aina had been playing Van Dijk onside.However, Bothroyd believes that Hugo Ekitike's position in the buildup to the goal should also have factored into the officials' final decision – despite not touching the ball.Bothroyd said: "Ekitike to me, there it looks like he’s in an offside position. I felt at the time that he was interfering with the defenders.Dermot Gallagher and Jay Bothroyd on Ref Watch"At that time, the ball is going into that area, and they’re looking at who is around them."If you’re a defender and you see a striker, you don’t know if he’s offside or not, you just have to react to where the ball is going, to me, he’s interfering."Even for that goal, there is a question about whether he’s interfering with play."You can understand why the defending team feel aggrieved there."Gallagher, however, believes the right decision was made as Ekitike did not influence the attack."It (the ball) has cleared him (Ekitike) by so much that he doesn't impact," Gallagher said."It's complex, and that's why I think the assistants and referees when they pool their resources about offside, I think they do a great job because it isn't easy.
It's the most technical law of all, isn't it, offside?"I actually think it's better now, if you think back to when I refereed, offside was offside and players like that were always given offside, it was goals disallowed, and people didn't want it."Liverpool FCNottingham Forest