Arne Slot was left bemoaning one main refereeing choice from Liverpool’s controversial defeat to Manchester Metropolis on Sunday.
A madcap second half at Anfield ended with Dominik Szoboszlai being despatched off for denial of a goalscoring alternative (DOGSO) after he pulled Erling Haaland’s shirt in attempting to race again to stop a long-distance objective from Rayan Cherki, which was dominated out by VAR.
There was one other contentious second earlier within the second half when, with the impasse but to be damaged, Marc Guehi tugged again Mo Salah’s jersey simply exterior the penalty space when the Crimson winger gave the impression to be by way of on objective, however the England defender obtained away with only a yellow card.
Slot felt Guehi shirt tug ought to’ve been a purple card
That was the one refereeing incident with which Slot had a grievance from right this moment’s match, arguing that the majority neutral observers would’ve interpreted it as DOGSO and due to this fact a red-card offence.
The Liverpool head coach informed Sky Sports activities: “If l needed to speak about one second, it could be the time when Mo was by way of on objective and Guehi had maintain of his shirt.
“Everybody who’s been on this stadium for the previous eight years is aware of that if Mo Salah is in that state of affairs, it’s a objective. That’s positively a goalscoring alternative.
“Possibly that’s 80-20. Possibly we might discover 20 folks from the PGMOL who’ll let you know that it’s not a purple card, however I believe on the whole, everybody would let you know that it ought to’ve been a purple card. The opposite incidents are a bit extra 50-50.”
Slot is true to name out but extra refereeing inconsistency
Slot is true to level out the most recent bout of inconsistency from match officers within the Premier League, with two totally different choices arising from two very comparable offences.
Some may argue that Salah wasn’t bearing down on objective from a central place, however had he latched onto the go into him, it could positively have constituted a goalscoring alternative.
That begs the query – why did Guehi solely obtain a yellow card for that incident when the VAR was chomping on the bit to become involved on the finish of the sport and persuade Pawson to indicate purple to Szoboszlai?
„Anybody who’s been on this stadium for the final eight years is aware of that if Mo Salah is in that place it is a objective!“
Arne Slot chuckles in response to questions round refereeing choices in Liverpool’s defeat to Man Metropolis 🟥 pic.twitter.com/Zb6h8hVVAa
— Sky Sports activities Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 8, 2026
Many refereeing choices are subjective, and it’s not the officers’ fault that Liverpool failed to carry onto their lead and even come away with a draw, however these two moments spotlight precisely the double requirements which infuriate followers, managers and gamers alike on this nation.
PGMOL chief Howard Webb must be feeling fairly uneasy after what materialised at Anfield right this moment, and we will solely wonder if he’ll be wheeled out alongside Michael Owen for his or her stage-managed Mic’d Up present through which he’ll give some nonsense ‘justification’ for what occurred.
What the previous top-flight referee must be doing is having a phrase with the officers on responsibility for this recreation and asking them how they got here to such differing verdicts on two comparable incidents, with a correct clarification then being given to the general public.
Slot had each proper to be incensed over the Guehi/Salah incident, and had Liverpool been taking part in in opposition to 10 males for the ultimate 20 minutes or so, who is aware of how in another way this match would’ve performed out?
Sadly, the Reds can do nothing to vary right this moment’s outcome. What they need to do is study to be extra scientific with the possibilities they created however didn’t take through the second half.
