What referee and VAR said about penalty decision at Anfield that Sky pundit labelled ‘harsh’

The discussion between the referee and VAR over the penalty awarded to Nottingham Forest in their 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield has been made public.

The teams were level at 1-1 in the 69th minute when Neco Williams went down in the home side’s box under a challenge from Alisson Becker, with Sam Barrott immediately pointing to the spot.

The Reds goalkeeper looked aghast at the decision from the official, but a quick VAR check saw the on-field call upheld, and Morgan Gibbs-White buried the spot kick to restore the visitors’ lead before Victor Munoz netted a late equaliser.

What did referee and VAR say about penalty decision?

The Premier League Match Centre on X published the discussion between the referee and VAR over the penalty incident, explaining:’The referee’s call of penalty to Nottingham Forest for the challenge by Alisson on Williams was checked and confirmed by VAR.’

Barrott maintained: “For me, he comes out and doesn’t play the ball when he clears the player out. He doesn’t play the ball”; with the VAR replying: “Alisson’s right hand on his left foot. Clear contact by Alisson. Confirming the on-field decision of penalty, check complete”.

However, speaking on Soccer Saturday for Sky Sports, Clinton Morrison disputed the decision as he claimed: “I just thought it was a shot going wide. It’s harsh. I don’t think there’s a lot of contact. There’s nothing he can do. He’s coming out to get the ball.”

(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 trust

A debatable decision on a frustrating day for Liverpool

The stunned reaction of the Liverpool players to the penalty decision suggested that they felt hard done by, and replays indicated that any contact from Alisson on Williams was minimal.

While ex-Premier League referee Mike Dean said that there wasn’t much else the goalkeeper could do and described it as a ‘coming together’, he felt that it was never going to be overturned as it wasn’t a ‘clear and obvious error’ from Barrott (Sky Sports).

Debate will rage as to whether the Brazilian needed to rush out to try and meet Williams, whose shot flew across the goalmouth rather than into the net, and any contact from our number 1 on the Forest player would unfortunately constitute a foul.

It didn’t seem like a clearcut decision either way, and we’d have been calling for a penalty if it happened at the other end of the pitch, but it’s still a frustrating one for Liverpool to take.

On the whole, however, Andoni Iraola’s team will have to be honest in their assessment of their own performance over the 90 minutes rather than pointing to the officials.

A draw at home just isn’t enough, and it could’ve been worse if it weren’t for a brilliant Jeremy Jacquet block in the early stages and an outstanding Alisson save just before half-time.

You can view the penalty incident below, via @footballontnt on X: