The referee’s conversation with VAR over the penalty given to Nottingham Forest in their 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Anfield has now been released to the public.
The scores were level at 1-1 when Neco Williams went down under a challenge from Alisson in the box during the 69th minute, and Sam Barrott pointed straight to the spot. The Liverpool goalkeeper reacted with disbelief, but VAR backed the on-field call after a brief review, and Morgan Gibbs-White converted to put Forest back in front before a late leveller from Victor Munoz.
The Premier League’s official Match Centre account shared the audio exchange, confirming that the penalty award for Alisson’s challenge on Williams was reviewed and upheld by VAR. Barrott explained his reasoning by saying the goalkeeper came out and cleared the player without getting the ball, and VAR confirmed clear contact from Alisson’s hand on Williams’ foot, closing the check with the penalty decision standing. Clinton Morrison, however, disagreed on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday, arguing the effort looked to be going wide anyway, that contact was minimal, and that there was little else the keeper could do as he came for the ball.
Liverpool’s players clearly felt aggrieved in the moment, and slow-motion replays backed up the sense that any contact was slight. Former referee Mike Dean similarly felt the goalkeeper couldn’t do much differently and called it more of a coming together than a foul, though he doubted it would ever have been overturned since it didn’t meet the bar of a clear and obvious error.
It’s a call that will divide opinion — there’s a fair argument either way about whether the keeper needed to rush out, and most neutrals would probably want the same decision if it happened at the other end. Still, it’s a tough one for Liverpool to absorb. Ultimately though, the bigger issue for Liverpool is their overall performance rather than the officiating, with a home draw representing a below-par result that could have been worse without a crucial Jeremy Jacquet block early on and a big Alisson save right before the break.
