Former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler has hit out at PGMOL chief Howard Webb for his attempts to explain how his old side were not awarded a second penalty against Manchester City earlier this month.
Nothing can be done to change the decision now, but given how tight the title race is at present, come the end of the season, supporters may be looking back on the moment when Jeremy Doku’s boot collided with the midriff of Alexis Mac Allister in stoppage time as a flashpoint.
That match at Anfield ended 1-1, allowing Arsenal to snatch top spot ahead of both of their rivals. The Reds are at least comforted by the fact City and the Gunners face off next weekend, though those two points missed out on could have potentially handed them a healthier advantage, provided all goes their way in one week’s time.
This week’s edition of Match Officials Mic’d Up allowed Webb to review the situation in full, during which it was revealed VAR on the day Stuart Atwell said both players “went in high.” Ultimately, the PGMOL chief said the officials were correct not to re-referee the call, even if it split opinion.
“Football isn’t rocket science. Fans will always recognise a great goal, a defence-splitting pass or a brilliant save. And they can also spot a dodgy refereeing decision a mile away”, he wrote in his latest column for The Mirror.
“Which is why Howard Webb appears to be taking us all for fools with his rather creative takes on some of the calamitous mistakes that are bringing the Premier League into disrepute.
“Webb’s latest attempt to con us all into thinking that anyone who doesn’t own a whistle, a flag or a VAR monitor doesn’t really understand the game would be comical if it wasn’t just another example of the lunatics taking over the asylum.
“The PGMOL chief did his very best to paint Jeremy Doku’s chest-high challenge on Alexis Mac Allister in Liverpool’s recent meeting with Manchester City as an innocent ‘coming together’ that didn’t warrant a penalty.
“Anyone who watched the game knew that Doku got away with one. Not just in terms of referee Michael Oliver missing the offence as it happened, but in the way VAR official Stuart Attwell failed to advise him to take another look on the pitch-side monitor despite being armed with replays of the incident from every conceivable angle.
“It was exactly the type of scenario that VAR was supposed to rectify. Instead, Webb expected us all to accept that a throat-threatening challenge doesn’t cross the threshold. Until next week, when it does. Or how winning the ball first and catching someone with a follow-through is a foul this time. When next time it won’t be.”
Despite his allegiance to Liverpool, the former striker insists that is not where his thoughts on the matter stem from. Instead he hopes this current system changes, starting with the scrapping of VAR for good.
“I’m sorry, Howard, but every time I hear you trying to explain away these decisions, you come across as a jobsworth doing what he can to defend his mates,” Fowler continued. “Football belongs to fans and players. But it’s been ambushed by administrators and officials who are trying to make the game perfect. They don’t understand that it’s those imperfections that make football what it is.
