30 January 2024 , 16:25
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Liverpool fans have been left furious after Premier League chiefs made the "laughable" decision to appoint David Coote as the video assistant referee for their upcoming clash with Arsenal.
Coote was on VAR duty when the sides met just over a month ago at Anfield and controversially chose not to instruct on-field referee Chris Kavanagh to take a pitch-side review of a potential Liverpool penalty, who at that stage were losing 1-0. It was later deemed four-to-one by an independent panel that the incident - in which Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard used his hand to flick the ball away from Mohamed Salah - should've resulted in a penalty prior to Liverpool's eventual equaliser, as the game finished 1-1.
The head of the PGMOL - the body in charge of the Premier League's match officials - Howard Webb, also admits that Odegaard's handball should've been penalised, but Coote has been given the exact same role for the teams' clash at the Emirates this Sunday. That's not gone down with Liverpool supporters, one of whom posted on X: "You can't make it up anymore, they keep trying."
Another wrote: "I see David Coote has been appointed again to offer a helping hand on Sunday. Laughable." A third added: "The PGMOL are too funny."
Frequently seen across social media were Webb's comments when analysing the decision. "The referee on the field recognised that Odegaard had slipped and saw his arm go to ground," the former referee explained on Match Officials Mic'd Up. "We've talked in the past about supporting arms if somebody breaks their fall with the arm it's very natural, and that's a pretty well established concept.
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"In this situation, though there's an important difference to a normal player that's fallen, it's not just Odegaard accidentally falling onto the ball. He does slip, the arm does go out, but he actually pulls his arm back in towards his body which is when the ball makes contact with the arm.
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David Coote has refereed a Liverpool fixture since the incident against Arsenal (Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)"The VAR looked at it and thought it was a case of Odegaard trying to make himself smaller by bringing the arm back towards the body. That's the element that's important here - whether it's instinctive or deliberate he gets a huge advantage by bringing the arm back towards the ball, and the feedback we got back was very clear; the game expects a penalty, in this situation.
"I would agree, and as such I think this was one that didn't reach the right outcome."
The major change in officiating for this Sunday's fixture is that instead of Kavanagh being the on-field referee, Anthony Taylor will be taking charge. The match is sure to have implications on this season's already enthralling title race.