Fans may cry ‘LiVARpool’ but Chelsea did not deserve a penalty

Conor Gallagher and Chelsea were adamant they deserved a penalty in the early stages of their match at Liverpool but the referee got it right.

Paul Tierney was in a good position to judge the incident and he judged it correctly. Sadly, players are looking to go to ground rather than use their strength and stay on their feet. So many players wait for minimal contact in order to go to ground and win a penalty.

If Gallagher managed to stay on his feet, he would have been in a position to put Chelsea ahead. I read lots of comments online that said “LiVARpool” had benefitted from a wrong decision but this could not be further from the truth. It was competent refereeing.

You have to have clarity of judgement and the way you sell the decision on such a big call early in the game is your positioning. Tierney was positioned excellently, which showed his authority in making the call. It was the right decision, certainly not a clear an obvious error, and so no penalty was given.

Joe Cole, on commentary, said: “Front of the Kop, first 10 minutes, I think the referee has not been brave there.”

I do not agree here and such comments promote controversy. It is a myth that decision-making in front of the Kop, or any ground in the Premier League, is compromised by loud crowds or intimidating atmospheres. Tierney is a very experienced referee and he will give what he sees. No referee worth their salt is going to be swayed what happens in the stadium.

His yellow card for an act of simulation by Ben Chilwell looking for another penalty kick was again the correct call. It was a clear attempt at deceit that warranted a yellow card. It was a pity that VAR took too long to verify that.

One of the only drawbacks in the first half was the VAR check for the second goal. It took an age to award Conor Bradley his goal, and while he celebrated, at the back of his mind would be a check for a possible infringement. The VAR needed to be a lot quicker in this instance.

Tierney, who had a strong game throughout, was then in an excellent position to award Liverpool a penalty when Diogo Jota was fouled in the area by Benoit Badiashile. His fitness levels were exemplary in keeping up with the play, which enabled him to correctly judge his calls from the best possible position.

Christopher Nkunku went down in the second half, again under a challenge from Virgil van Dijk, and once again the penalty shouts were waved away. This time, though, it appears Tierney made a clear and obvious error – Nkunku was fouled by the Liverpool defender. VAR should have intervened and advised Tierney to have another look.

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