Liverpool were denied a penalty for a potential foul on Cody Gakpo during their 3-2 defeat to Brentford on Saturday and referee Simon Hooper’s decision has been backed
Liverpool were denied a penalty against Brentford(Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Liverpool have been informed why the decision not to award them a penalty during their loss to Brentford was correct. The Reds suffered a 3-2 defeat to the Bees in Saturday night’s Premier League encounter, further damaging their pursuit of table-toppers Arsenal.
Arne Slot’s squad have now last their last four league fixtures after earlier defeats to Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Manchester United. Liverpool currently sit seventh in the Premier League standings and will take on Palace in the Carabao Cup in their upcoming match.
The Reds were penalised following a VAR review which saw Virgil van Dijk adjudged to have fouled Dango Ouattara during the second period. Before half-time, Liverpool appealed for a penalty following a possible foul on Cody Gakpo.
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Nevertheless, official Simon Hooper declined to award the spot kick and the decision on the pitch was upheld by VAR. Former top-flight official Keith Hackett has now delivered his assessment of the call, arguing that Hooper and the video assistant made the right judgement.
“Referee Simon Hooper was ideally positioned to detect if there was any contact to award a penalty kick,” Hackett told Football Insider. “Frankly, there is no clear evidence that there was actual contact and therefore without that evidence rightly VAR did not intervene.
“These decisions are so much more credible when the referee is in close proximity to play to judge accurately what has taken place. Without that clear evidence of contact, you would not award a penalty kick.”
Slot was questioned about both penalty situations following Liverpool’s loss to Brentford, where he voiced his frustrations about the decisions. “If I say it was a soft penalty I hope you don’t say it’s an excuse, but it was a very soft penalty,” Slot said over the weekend.
Simon Hooper waved away Cody Gakpo’s plea for penalty(Image: Getty Images)
“I don’t think the referee was thinking to give the penalty but then they checked it and if it’s given as a foul then it’s a penalty. That bad luck maybe counts if you play a game like we did today.
“It’s a crucial moment just before the 2-0, there was a moment where Cody dribbled inside the box and they didn’t play the ball. I think if you show both situations to every referee in the world, maybe both are nothing but if I had to give one of the two penalties I’d give the one to Cody.”
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