A Premier League panel has ruled that Nottingham Forest's penalty against Liverpool last month shouldn't have been awarded - but nor should it have been overturned
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - AUGUST 29: Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool appeal to Referee Samuel Barrott after he awarded a penalty to Nottingham Forest during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Anfield on August 29, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Liverpool were furious with Samuel Barrott's decision(Image: Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
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Making a mockery of VAR is not that difficult these days. Even in these so-called modern times which continue to embrace ancient but now traditional mistakes.
But this hasn't stopped the Premier League panel from rubbing the nose of a VAR system it continues to tolerate right in the dirt. The latest ruling has decreed Nottingham Forest should not have been awarded a penalty at Liverpool following Alisson's challenge on Neco Williams.
Yet the League's 'Key Match Incidents' (KMI) panel insisted the decision did not reach the threshold for a VAR intervention. So, Michael Oliver was correct not to send referee Sam Barrott to the pitch-side monitor.
The decision helped Forest go 2-1 ahead before a late equaliser saw Liverpool salvage a point. The KMI Panel voted that Barrott should not have given the penalty, but supported the VAR outcome.
It said: "The contact from Alisson was inevitable as a consequence of his momentum in attempting to save the ball. The contact made was not reckless and below the threshold for a penalty.
"However, the non intervention by the VAR was unanimously supported, on the basis that it was not a clear and obvious error."
Confused yet? Well, here might be a simple explanation to the umpteenth incident in top-flight football to leave a farcical and lasting stain on its current reputation.
The verdict is laughable, because it is essentially admitting not one mistake has been made but two - yet those making them continue to be right. Go figure.
Barrott got it wrong in awarding a penalty in the first place. Then Oliver compounded the mistake by making one of his own, having decided not to send Barrott to the monitor to correct his original blunder.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - AUGUST 29: Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker fouls Neco Williams of Nottingham Forest to concede a penalty during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Anfield on August 29, 2026 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Alisson was deemed to have fouled Neco Williams(Image: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
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Which begs the question - if VAR cannot be used to review or correct potential mistakes, what is the point of it in the first place? The simple answer is, there isn't one.
The introduction of the 'clear and obvious' threshold, which appears ironic in itself, has become the biggest cancer of the VAR era. VAR is supposed to exist to enable officials to make correct decisions.
But according to all of the above, cannot be used when referees make mistakes which are deemed to be too minor. Like costing Liverpool three points at Anfield, right?
The incident involving Alisson and Williams is the kind of scenario VAR was invented for to resolve. Instead, it has made itself, those officials involved, and the English game, look laughable.
Welcome to the new Premier League season, everyone. The best one in the world. And also now, thanks to those in charge of it, the most complicated, confusing and comical one on the planet.