Jurgen Klopp labelled Jeremy Doku’s high boot on Alexis Mac Allister as “a penalty for all football people,” after VAR somehow denied Liverpool against Man City.
Liverpool found themselves thwarted on a number of occasions during a relentless second half at Anfield, unable to find the killer blow for 2-1.
But as the game looked to be trailing out for a 1-1 draw, Man City substitute Doku challenged Mac Allister for a ball in the box with his foot raised, his studs planting on the goalscorer’s chest.
Anfield protested fiercely, but referee Michael Oliver quickly waved a penalty away as he gestured to his earpiece.
There was no referral to the pitchside monitor by VAR Stuart Attwell, who appeared convinced he had seen, within seconds, that there was no foul.
It was a hugely controversial situation, which almost certainly would have been looked at further had it not happened at the very end of a pulsating tie.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Klopp argued as much, describing it as a “100 percent foul” anywhere else on the pitch and “a penalty for all football people.”
“Isn’t [VAR] there to just make the right decision and not think about how high the bar you have to overturn to find the right decision is?” he asked.
“This situation, in all positions on the pitch, is a 100 percent foul and it’s a yellow card.
“He hit the ball, yes, because he could only hit the ball because it’s right there. Then you say ‘he hit the ball’, but if the ball is not there, he kills him.
“The foot has nothing to do with it. That’s how it is, it’s as easy as that.
“Then again, you will find people [who will argue why it wasn’t a penalty].
“Did you employ Mike Dean? Is he working for Sky? Congratulations, that’s a great appointment, by the way! He will find, again, something, and all the others as well.
“This is a penalty. For all football people on the planet, it’s a penalty. If you think it’s not one, then maybe you’re not a football person.”
In his post-match press conference, he claimed “one good thing” about his impending exit is that he could be more honest about officiating.
He then asked: “Why would the guy in the VAR studio think ‘ah, that’s not clear and obvious’…what must he have had for lunch?!”
