William Saliba appeared to admit Liverpool should have had a penalty during their 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Premier League.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard clearly handled the ball inside the penalty area during the first half of the match, but referee Chris Kavanagh didn’t spot the offence and subsequently, VAR David Coote didn’t intervene.
Coote didn’t deem the offence worthy of sending the referee to the pitch-side monitor, and the game continued.
But speaking after the game, Saliba, Arsenal’s French centre half admitted that they were lucky not to be penalised.
“Yeah, of course,’ the 22-year-old chuckled in an interview with Viaplay after he was asked about the incident.
‘It was a penalty but I’m not the ref and they have to accept (it),” ,” said Saliba, as he picked up the man-of-the-match award after the game.
Jamie Carragher tweeted about Saliba’s comments, though some supporters felt that Saliba had misinterpreted the question, that he was speaking about Kai Havertz’ penalty claim instead.
It was a penalty & the man of the match knows it!
Two blatant penalties for handball in the last two nights & VAR don’t get involved 🤷♂️ https://t.co/843nr7niz0
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) December 23, 2023
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was frustrated about the decision after the game, claiming that his team should have been awarded a penalty.
“The penalty situation is a weird situation, I don’t know if the ref can see it, but you look at it and I’m not sure how you can say it’s not a penalty.
“I’m pretty sure someone will explain it to me about why it wasn’t a handball, but I don’t know how.
“I don’t say the ref can see it because I have no clue where he was at that moment.
“But that’s another question. When somebody sits in the office, how can they not come to the conclusion that it might be worth having another look at it.”
Arsenal had taken the lead early on after Saliba’s centre-half partner Gabriel scored an early header, from a free-kick by Martin Odegaard. Liverpool struck back to level the game before half-time, with Mo Salah collecting a raking Trent Alexander Arnold delivery before turning Oleksandr Zinchenko inside out.
The Ukrainian full back struggled on Salah throughout the game but was left on for the full ninety minutes by his manager Mikel Arteta.
"I'm amazed that one wasn't given" ❌
Jamie Redknapp & Theo Walcott discuss Liverpool's potential penalty against Arsenal. pic.twitter.com/QgjTVLKSWn
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 23, 2023
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