Dermot Gallagher view on disallowed Liverpool goal vs Benjamin Sesko decision speaks volumes

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Liverpool.com or go back to LFC Live.

Replays though showed the ball brushing off Sesko’s fingers before bouncing across the goal line.Despite a lengthy VAR check, the goal stood, which has split pundits and fans on whether the right decision was made, with former United captain Roy Keane among those who has insisted that it was.This isn’t the first time that Liverpool has found itself on the wrong side of such a call though, and fans have been quick to dig out former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher’s comments following a similar incident during a goalless draw with West Brom back in December 2017.On that occasion, Liverpool was denied a late winner after the ball lightly touched Dominic Solanke’s hand before going in, with Gallagher adamant that the right decision had been made.Dominic Solanke saw his goal for Liverpool against West Brom disallowed for handball(Image: Getty Images)“It did go off his arm and go in,” Gallagher told Sky Sports. “There's no doubt about that because it changes direction.“I think the problem for referees is the moral dilemma that it isn't acceptable to score with the hand or the arm.

It's not permissible to score with the hand anyway in law, so you are covered in that department.“It has gone in off his arm, whether he likes it or not. I think, and most other football supporters and referees would think, he's got that absolutely right.”Fast forward to 2026, and Gallagher had this to say about Sesko’s goal, and the time it took for a replay showing that the ball had come off his hand."Twenty-two minutes later, we get that angle,” Gallagher said.

Then we get that angle.Benjamin Sesko's goal stood despite replays showing the ball brushing his hand(Image: Getty Images)"When you watch it at real time, the closest person to it which is Virgil van Dijk, he just thinks it's a goal. The referee is hamstrung as it is a law with zero tolerance but people look at it and interpret as they want."Although Van Dijk might not have reacted at the time, Arne Slot and his coaching staff were much more convinced as they remonstrated with the fourth official on the touchline.“If it was a touch, which I think it is, because if you know a bit about a ball sport, you know that if a ball has a certain curve and the curve changes, there must have been contact – but it’s always light,” Slot said after the game.“Then we should have a debate in football, is that then enough to disallow a goal?