Premier League panel admits to refereeing error which cost Liverpool but stands by one decision

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Empire Of The Kop or go back to LFC Live.

The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel has acknowledged that one decision given against Liverpool in a recent fixture was made in error.In the 69th minute of the Reds’ match against Nottingham Forest at Anfield in late August, the visitors were awarded a penalty when Alisson Becker was adjudged to have fouled Neco Williams, with Michael Oliver on VAR upholding the on-field decision from Sam Barrott.Morgan Gibbs-White dispatched the resulting spot kick to put his team 2-1 ahead, with a late Victor Munoz equaliser ultimately ensuring a share of the spoils.Forest penalty v Liverpool shouldn’t have been awardedThe Premier League has published the KMI Panel’s outcomes from Matchweek 2, including the match between Liverpool and Forest on 29 August.On the penalty that the visitors were awarded, the panel concluded: ‘The panel felt that the referee’s call of a penalty was incorrect on-field, 3:2. The contact from Alisson was inevitable as a consequence of his momentum in attempting to save the ball – the contact made was not reckless and below the threshold for a penalty. ‘However, the non-intervention by the VAR was unanimously supported on the basis that it was not a clear and obvious error.’(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)Want more Empire of the Kop coverage?

Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustRefereeing standards still have so much scope for improvementLiverpool fans could be forgiven for feeling that the KMI Panel are communicating mixed messages with their verdict, as if they’re saying ‘The referee messed up but it’s OK because it wasn’t a blatant error’.We don’t want to see VAR intervening for every last little decision in a football match, but this incident highlights the need for on-field officials to make the right call in realtime and not become overly reliant on their colleagues in Stockley Park to bail them out.Barrott may have thought it was a penalty at the time, but the KMI Panel’s decision suggests that he should’ve called it differently. As a result, the Reds had a spot kick wrongly given against them, and it proved significant towards the eventual outcome of the game.Whatever contact there may have been from Alisson on Williams was minimal – it was certainly a lot less than that by Abdul Fatawu on Cody Gakpo at Portman Road last Friday, a challenge which didn’t even consistute a foul in the eyes of referee Darren England.That’s exactly the sort of inconsistency which enrages football fans in this country and ensures that the standard of refereeing in the Premier League remains firmly under the microscope.Achieving consenus on every decision is impossible, but it feels as though the cycle of officiating controversy in the English top flight is neverending, and that not enough is being done by Pro Ref (formerly PGMOL) to raise the overall standard.