UEFA have released a statement after Liverpool were controversially denied a penalty in their Champions League tie with Real Madrid. The Reds insisted that they were wrongly denied a spot-kick. The opening period was filled with drama, yet neither the Merseyside outfit nor the La Liga giants managed to find a breakthrough.
Arne Slot’s men believed they had been handed a golden chance to take the lead when Dominik Szoboszlai’s long-range strike seemed to strike the arm of Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni. Match official Istvan Kovacs initially signalled for a free-kick just outside the area, before VAR intervened and asked him to review the incident on the pitchside screen.
As the referee made his way to the monitor, anticipation grew amongst the Anfield faithful that he would reverse his original call and award a spot-kick, given Tchouameni looked to be positioned on the penalty area line.
Whilst he did alter his verdict, he concluded no handball offence had occurred whatsoever, leaving the home supporters and Amazon Prime pundit Mark Clattenburg furious, with the latter adamant a penalty ought to have been given and VAR should have directed Kovacs towards awarding one.
An official UEFA statement read: “VAR decision: no penalty. The ball touched the left arm of Real Madrid’s player No14, which was close to the body in a natural position.”
Clattenburg, a former Premier League and Champions League referee, first said: “It’s great when get a second chance to see it. I think the referee, from his angle, thinks it’s outside, but from this angle from the side on, which is what the assistant referee has, it looks like the arm is inside the penalty area when the ball hits.
“When that happens, the VAR will recommend a review. I think the referee might change his mind here.”
Following the decision, Clattenburg continued: “What the VAR has done, in his opinion, because the referee has given a handball – and I think it’s a handball by the way.
“I agree with the referee’s initial decision of handball. Once it’s handball, the handball is inside the penalty area. What the referee is now saying is that it’s not a handball. He doesn’t believe the defender made his body bigger.”
Alan Shearer, who was on punditry duties for Amazon Prime alongside Clattenburg, added: “They really have tied themselves in knots with this handball law, natural, unnatural, proximity. It would have been a lot simpler to say is it a deliberate handball or not.”
Slot was left infuriated by the decision as the referee’s original call of free-kick was reversed, also, and Madrid ended up with the ball from the incident.
