Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett has claimed that Liverpool broke one of the six new rules that will be enforced in the 2025/26 season during their opening day win against Bournemouth. However, Anthony Taylor failed to punish the Reds for the infringement.
Defending their title, Arne Slot's men got off to a good start, picking up all three points at Anfield. It was by no means an easy win, though, as it required two late goals to get Liverpool across the line with a win.
Things looked good initially, with new man Hugo Ekitike opening the scoring before Cody Gakpo made it 2-0 in the 49th minute. Antoine Semenyo – who had been subjected to racist abuse earlier on in the game – then led a spirited comeback, scoring two fantastic goals.
This only set the stage for substitute Federico Chiesa to steal the headlines with his 88th-minute strike. Mohamed Salah then put the cherry on top, adding a fourth in the final moments of the game.
Hackett: Referee Taylor Made Mistake
There was major controversy early on, though, when Ekitike looked set to run through on goal, only for Marcos Senesi to halt the attack with a clear handball. VAR felt differently, reasoning that the action was 'deemed not to be a clear handball offence nor denial of a goal scoring opportunity', but Liverpool players were furious, surrounding the referee.
Per the new rules for the 2025/26 Premier League season, this should not be allowed. Indeed, only the captain (which was Vrigil van Dijk in this instance) is allowed to approach the referee during Premier League matches. Any player who confronts an official without permission - and does so in a disrespectful manner - can be shown a yellow card.
Footage from the incident clearly shows Alexis Mac Allister and Ekitike charge over to Taylor to state their case, with Van Dijk also joining the duo.
Noting the incident, former PGMOL chief Hackett explained, via Football Insider, that action should have been taken to implement the new rule. He said:
"Immediately after the incident, the referee was clearly surrounded by two Liverpool players.
“What a disappointment in this opening game, and the introduction of the new “captains only” procedure introduced this season, that referee Taylor did not stop the game.
“He should have issued a public warning to the two players, calling the Liverpool Captain across to reinforce the point.”
This wasn't the only bit of officiating Hackett wasn't happy with from the match. Speaking on the same incident, he felt that it should have resulted in a red card for Senesi.
"(It is) amazing with the officials on duty they get the handball so wrong," he said, before adding: "You look at the Liverpool player and he has a good probability to control the ball, run towards goal because there are no covering defenders. It’s a nailed in DOGSO offence."
It certainly wasn't the best start for the officials who will remain under scrutiny throughout the season as they aim for improvement, with the PGMOL admitting they made 18 VAR errors last term.