adminPremier League releases two statements after double Liverpool v Nottingham Forest controversy
The opening 45 minutes of Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest were packed with controversy, prompting the Premier League to issue two separate explanations for key decisions made during the first half.
Forest went into the break 1-0 up thanks to Murillo’s 33rd-minute strike. Moments later, they believed they had doubled their lead, only for VAR to rule the goal out due to a handball in the build-up.
The first goal itself caused debate. A Forest defender appeared to be standing in an offside position directly in front of Alisson Becker, but officials ruled he was not interfering with the Liverpool goalkeeper. The call immediately drew comparisons to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed goal against Manchester City the previous week, a decision that had been heavily criticised despite being defended by PGMOL chief Howard Webb.
Explaining why Murillo’s goal was allowed, the Premier League Match Centre stated:
“The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that Ndoye was not in the line of vision of Alisson and did not make an action that impacted an opponent.”
Just two minutes after the opener, Igor Jesus thought he had added Forest’s second, but VAR intervened again. This time, the officials judged that Jesus had handled the ball before scoring.
The Match Centre clarified:
“The referee’s call of no goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that Jesus accidentally handled the ball before scoring.”
However, this decision also caused debate, as replays did not clearly show an obvious handball.
Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson commented:
“You couldn’t see the freeze of where it struck Igor Jesus’ arm, but it looked like it hit him on the sleeve.”
Ex-Arsenal defender Martin Keown added:
“It looks like the ball came up and hit Jesus on his ribcage. Surely VAR have seen something to chalk it off. I can’t see the hand.”
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