Robertson admits Liverpool penalty v Inter may have been ‘soft’

Andy Robertson was usually forthright along with his evaluation of the 2 main VAR speaking factors from Liverpool’s win over Inter Milan on Tuesday night time.

The Reds had an Ibrahima Konate objective disallowed within the first half after Hugo Ekitike was adjudged to have intentionally dealt with the ball within the build-up. It seemed a harsh choice, and it scandalously took 5 minutes for the officers to make up their thoughts, with even Rio Ferdinand expressing sympathy with the Merseysiders.

Then, in the direction of the top of regular time, Alessandro Bastoni momentarily tugged the shirt of Florian Wirtz, with the German going to floor. Once more the referee was summoned to the pitchside VAR monitor and once more he modified his thoughts, with Dominik Szoboszlai duly burying the ensuing penalty.

Robertson has his say on each VAR interventions

Whereas Robertson was naturally perplexed over how lengthy it took for Konate’s objective to be harshly chalked off, he admitted that the spot kick that Liverpool have been awarded might have been barely beneficiant.

He informed Amazon Prime Video Sport: “The handball, for me, if it takes seven or eight minutes to get to a conclusion, I feel it’s important to persist with the on-field choice. They’ll’t be taking that lengthy and everybody [is] hanging round.

“If it takes that lengthy for the ref and the VAR to decide, then I feel you’ve obtained to stay to what the choice is. The penalty seemed tender, however anyplace else on the pitch it will get given, and fortunately we obtained that one.”

A usually sincere response from Robertson

We predict Robertson is right on each counts.

VAR was introduced in to attempt to eradicate ‘clear and apparent’ errors, and if the officers can’t see any robust purpose to overturn the unique choice inside 40-50 seconds, then the on-field name ought to stand and the sport ought to proceed.

The ball did strike Ekitike’s arm, however it got here at him from shut vary and definitely wasn’t a deliberate motion by the Frenchman, whose compatriot Konate can really feel rightly aggrieved at his objective being disallowed.

Nevertheless, Robertson was usually sincere sufficient to acknowledge that the penalty choice in Liverpool’s favour might have been tender. Bastoni did give Felix Zwayer an excuse to award the spot kick, though Wirtz’s fall to the bottom was relatively theatrical, and we’d have been fuming if it occurred the opposite approach round.

Nonetheless, it was the sort of break that the Reds wanted after such a troublesome season, and amid the fallout from Mo Salah’s feedback on the weekend.

Additionally, on the steadiness of play, Arne Slot’s facet have been deserving of their victory, which retains us in agency competition to advance on to the final 16 of the Champions League and bypass the knockout play-off spherical in February.