24 December 2023 , 14:33
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Michael Owen and Ian Wright both felt Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty against Arsenal following Martin Odegaard's handball.
The incident occurred during the first half at Anfield as Odegaard handled the ball inside the area when Mohamed Salah tried to flick the ball past him. The on-field referee played on, while VAR decided not to intervene. Jurgen Klopp cut a frustrated figure in his post-match press conference, while Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher were among those who admitted Arsenal got away with one.
According to Sky Sports, the PGMOL stated a penalty was not awarded because "Odegaard's arm is moving towards the body and not the ball as he goes down." That would have been little consolation to Klopp and Liverpool, who squandered the chance to move to the top of the Premier League table at Christmas, as the game finished 1-1. Gabriel gave Arsenal the lead before Salah equalised for the Reds.
However, the Odegaard handball incident has been one of the main topics of discussion from the match and ex-Liverpool forward Owen has since weighed in with his verdict. "I thought it was a penalty," Owen told Premier League productions. "I thought the hand went towards the ball.
"Mo Salah was flicking it around him and was about to run onto it, then Odegaard stops it with his hand. It doesn’t look like it was intentional, but he does move his hand towards the ball and stops it, so I think it’s a penalty."
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Meanwhile, former Arsenal striker Ian Wright agreed with Owen and added: "If you give that, then why wouldn’t you give that? What reason would you give that you aren’t going to give it? I can’t see how that’s not a penalty. I am delighted, in the end, because you don’t lose the game.
Martin Odegaard appeared to handle the ball inside the area"I can’t understand how you can look at that and not give a penalty for that – look at Mo Salah. He is going past him and around him. The fact that his hand has stopped it in the box – they have actually stopped a goalscoring opportunity."
Speaking in his post-match interview, Klopp was far from pleased with the decision not to award his side a spot-kick. He said: "The penalty situation is a weird situation, I don't know if the ref can see it, but you look at it and I'm not sure how you can say it's not a penalty. I’m pretty sure someone will explain it to me about why it wasn’t a handball, but I don’t know how.
"I don't say the ref can see it because I have no clue where he was at that moment. But that's another question. When somebody sits in the office, how can they not come to the conclusion that it might be worth having another look at it."