Former PGMOL chief executive Keith Hackett feels that Arne Slot had every right to be annoyed over one controversial moment at Anfield on Saturday.
While Liverpool took a big step closer to securing Champions League qualification with a 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace, the nature of the visitors’ goal caused consternation as Daniel Munoz lofted the ball into the Reds’ net while Freddie Woodman was lying injured on the turf.
Unsurprisingly, the opposing head coaches had differing views on the incident, with OIiver Glasner insisting his team’s goal was right to stand and Slot unhappy that play wasn’t stopped with our goalkeeper down on the ground with an injury.
Former top-flight referee Hackett believes that Andy Madley committed a significant mistake by not stopping the play before Munoz had the chance to put the ball in the met.
The ex-PGMOL chief told Football Insider: “I can’t believe that an elite referee couldn’t see that the goalkeeper was injured and unable to take part in the game. He made it very clear that he was injured. You wouldn’t expect the goal to be scored, so the referee has opened himself up to criticism.
“Slot’s view is the right one. The referee should have stopped the game. Did it look right? No. Was it easier for the referee to stop the game? Of course it was. He’s put himself under criticism from the manager. I’m supportive of what he has to say. He’s saying it as it is. Why didn’t he stop the game?”
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While it’s unsurprising that Slot and Glasner had differing views on the incident, it’s also divided opinion among multiple ex-Premier League referees.
Whereas Hackett admonished Madley for not stopping the play, Mike Dean claimed there was ‘nothing’ the on-field official could do, and Dermot Gallagher told Sky Sports that the whistler was ‘hamstrung’ and was unlucky that the ball ended up in the Liverpool net, as otherwise no controversy would’ve erupted.
The home fans at Anfield were enraged at what they saw as unsporting behaviour from Munoz in scoring the goal with Woodman down injured, with one spectator even throwing a ball at the Colombian right-back when he prepared to take a throw-in shortly afterwards.
However, it’s arguable that, had the incident happened the other way around, Reds supporters would insist that their player was right to carry on with the game if the referee didn’t stop it.
Madley could’ve spared himself a lot of bother if he’d simply interrupted the play when the Liverpool goakeeper was on the ground, and from his position he should’ve been able to see that Woodman was stricken.
It was a preventable and unsavoury moment at Anfield on Saturday, but thankfully it didn’t prevent Slot’s side from claiming a crucial victory in their pursuit of Champions League qualification.
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The referee stopped playing immediately on every occasion when a Palace player went down, sometimes after zero contact from an opposition player. The fact he allowed the play to continue here means he made a decision with extreme prejudice. Munoz doesn’t have to stop playing and whilst him stopping voluntarily would’ve earned him a lot of plaudits, he knew exactly what he was doing.
I was more disappointed that neither of Van Dijk or Konate dropped back to the goal line and that the players didn’t all run to Munoz to show their disgust and to show solidarity with their momentarily-stricken goalkeeper.
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