Liverpool were denied a clear penalty during their goalless draw with Leeds United at Anfield, according to former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher. The incident involved Reds striker Hugo Ekitike being tugged back by Leeds defender Jaka Bijol inside the area, but referee Chris Kavanagh waved away appeals.
Speaking on Sky Sports' Ref Watch programme, Gallagher maintained that Liverpool ought to have been awarded a spot-kick, and that Bijol should have been sent off. “I watched this live and thought: this is exactly why players go down,” Gallagher said. “In my view, if Ekitike goes down, I think not only a penalty, but Bijol is sent off because he has grabbed him and grabbed him and grabbed him.”
Gallagher added that Ekitike’s decision to stay on his feet and attempt a shot made the decision more difficult for the referee: “But he stays on his feet and gets a shot away and that makes it a much more difficult decision for the referee. If he hits the ground, the whole landscape changes.”
Former footballer Jay Bothroyd agreed, saying that Ekitike was punished for his honesty. “You do not get rewarded for honesty and that is the problem,” he said. “I would be telling him, ‘If that happens again, fall on the floor and go down,’ as that way you are asking the officials to make a decision. Everyone knows it is a foul, they got away with it and it would have been a red card as he stopped a goalscoring opportunity.”
The stalemate leaves Liverpool in the top four, but they face a challenging run of fixtures including trips to Fulham and Premier League leaders Arsenal.
