Fans watching West Ham 2-2 Liverpool were left confused when Anthony Taylor appeared to blow the whistle belatedly when Cody Gakpo was hoping to put the Reds a goal ahead. The Reds’ number 18 had spotted an opportunity.
West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola had caught the ball from a corner kick and went down with an injury. But when he got up again, he dropped the ball appearing ready to take a free-kick.
Gakpo saw that the whistle had not been blown and went to try and score, at which point the referee did blow and stopped the game for Areola to receive treatment. The Liverpool forward thought he should have been allowed to put the ball in the net.
Taylor had, though, signaled that he was playing advantage. He had not blown the whistle for a foul but did spot an infringement with the initial foul. He was attempting to let Areolo play from his hands rather than requiring a kick off the ground.
When the goalkeeper put the ball on the floor, Taylor could technically have let Gakpo score. But that would have removed the advantage for Areola and would not have been in the spirit of the game.
