Arne Slot has backed the officials’ decision to disallow Mohamed Salah’s goal and reverse a penalty call during Liverpool‘s 2-1 triumph over Wolves on Sunday. Goals from Luis Diaz and Salah secured a crucial win for the Reds, despite Wolves’ late rally following Matheus Cunha’s second-half goal.
Liverpool were denied a third when VAR ruled Salah offside as he received a pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold and outwitted Wolves’ goalkeeper Jose Sa. Shortly after, Liverpool were granted a penalty when Diogo Jota was brought down in the box.
Referee Simon Hooper believed Emmanuel Agbadou had fouled Jota and signalled for a penalty, but replays revealed it was the Liverpool star who initiated the contact, leading to a VAR review and the decision being reversed. “VAR checked the referee’s call of penalty to Liverpool for a challenge by Agbadou on Jota and deemed any contact was not initiated by Agbadou, therefore recommended an on-field review,” the Premier League clarified in a statement.
“The referee overturned the original decision and play restarted with a drop ball.”
Slot agreed with both decisions, telling Sky Sports post-match: “We did have a goal offside and a penalty overturned. We were by far a goal threat in the second half. Wolves took a lot of risks.
“The team felt today to bring this win over the line, defending was more important than attacking. if this is what it takes to win a game then I’m happy the players could do that again. Fatigue comes from running a lot and a bit of mental fatigue a lot.
“We were mentally tested today. We thought we’d scored a third and then a penalty for the third but both were correct from the referee. Maybe it did lead to us being a bit tired. I did see for the first time this season that players were more tired than they have been.”
Slot declined to comment further on the situation regarding his dismissal after the Merseyside derby. “I’ve said before the game as it is an ongoing process, it is not smart to talk about it,” Slot said.
“We’ve seen the comments from the referee and now we can say our part. It’s down to a panel to decide if I get a ban.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk