Both the home side and many spectators — whether in the stadium or watching on TV — felt the decision to award the penalty was extremely harsh. ..Continue Reading
Arne Slot’s team believed they had earlier broken the deadlock when Ibrahima Konate headed the ball into Inter’s goal, but VAR ruled it out after determining that Hugo Ekitike had handled the ball in the buildup.
Inter could understandably feel aggrieved by that call, though they later benefited from a refereeing decision of their own.
Florian Wirtz attempted to twist inside the box before suddenly going down, appearing to exaggerate the fall on first viewing. Replays, however, showed that the German substitute’s shirt was tugged slightly by a defender.
Plenty of observers — including Alan Shearer and Mark Clattenburg on Prime Sport — believed Slot’s men were fortunate to receive the penalty.
Szoboszlai then fired the ball past Yann Sommer with precision, sealing Liverpool’s victory at San Siro, though many argued he should never have had the chance to take it.
Rules analyst Dale Johnson explained to BBC Sport that such an incident would not have resulted in a penalty in the Premier League due to differing regulations.
He said: “Liverpool might have been hard done by through the first VAR intervention for handball but they benefitted this time. Again, it was the different interpretation between UEFA and the Premier League.
In England, the tug on Wirtz’s shirt would have been seen as fleeting, or inconsequential. In the Champions League, it’s enough for a VAR penalty.
“In the Premier League, the way Wirtz went down would have been taken into consideration too. That is why Nick Woltemade didn’t get a penalty at Bournemouth.”
Former AC Milan boss Fabio Capello was among those outraged by the call. Immediately after the match, he launched into a fierce criticism and accused Wirtz of diving.
He told Football Italia: “It’s a scandalous penalty.
“I don’t understand why the VAR had to intervene when the referee saw it all, the obvious simulation, throwing himself to the ground.”
