The final Premier League game of Saturday delivered a litany of controversial moments. With Liverpool trailing 2-1, a free-kick was soon turned into a penalty for Brentford, which they went on to score. A moment that confused many, the reasoning behind the change in decision has been revealed.
Following three successive Premier League losses, Arne Slot's men arrived in London needing to write the wrong of their domestic league form. However, just six minutes into the encounter, they found themselves 1-0 down.
A scoreline that was doubled on the stroke of half-time, owing to a Kevin Schade finish, the deficit was halved just five minutes later by Milos Kerkez, as the Reds trailed 2-1 at the break. Needing to return to winning ways, just 15 minutes into the second half, things went from bad to worse, as Igor Thiago calmly dispatched a penalty.
Having been denied one themselves in the first half, it was Virgil Van Dijk who found himself pushing and kicking Ouatarra directly on the line of his box, something he was penalised for, but initially with just a free-kick. Following conversations with VAR, the decision was overturned, and a penalty was awarded, with the exact reasoning for this outcome having been revealed.
Why Brentford Received a Penalty Against Liverpool
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As Brentford looked to extend their lead, Dango Ouattara was pacing down the right-hand side, not long before Van Dijk fouled the Burkina Faso international. A collision that occurred on the edge of the box, the on-field referee gave a free-kick.
However, as the set-up for the set piece began, the referee received vital information from VAR, revealing the decision needed to be overturned without going to the monitor. Something that has rarely occurred in the Premier League, the TNT Sports commentary team revealed that because the contact occurred in the box, as opposed to the presumed edge of the box, it needed to be overturned, no questions asked, as it wasn't a subjective matter, but a factual one.
Soon after the TNT team gave their verdict, the Premier League Match Centre X account, which relays the exact reasoning for VAR decisions, explained just why the free-kick was switched to a penalty kick.
"After VAR review, the referee overturned the original decision of free-kick to Brentford. Referee announcement: "After review, the challenge by Liverpool No 4 is on the line. My final decision is penalty."
Having been denied a penalty of their own in the first half, which has also been explained, Liverpool will be feeling hard done by the referee at the Gtech Community Stadium, as their luck in the Premier League continues to waver. With an EFL Cup encounter with newly-founded bogey team Crystal Palace on the horizon, Slot's side will need to dust themselves off and move on if they are to get their season back on track.