London, September 28, 2025 – Just 24 hours after Crystal Palace’s Eddie Nketiah plunged a dagger into Liverpool’s unbeaten Premier League dream with a 97th-minute thunderbolt at Selhurst Park, a scathing refereeing verdict has emerged that threatens to flip the script on the 2-1 defeat entirely. Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett, the ex-head of England’s elite officials whose whistle once commanded respect across the Football Association, has lambasted VAR for failing to intervene on a “blatant handball” by Mohamed Salah in the build-up to Federico Chiesa’s 87th-minute equalizer—insisting the goal should never have stood and that Palace were robbed of a regulation 2-0 win. In a blistering column for The Sun, Hackett’s analysis—bolstered by frame-by-frame breakdowns and insider VAR protocol critiques—has ignited a firestorm on X, with #SalahHandball surging to 1.8 million posts and fans howling for a replay or points deduction. As Arne Slot’s Reds, now clinging to a three-point lead at the summit after Arsenal’s slip, digest the fallout, this “fresh verdict” reframes their first loss of the season not as a gritty cup upset (wait, no—league thriller), but as a VAR-fueled travesty that spared Liverpool further humiliation.

The Selhurst showdown on Saturday was a cauldron of controversy from the opening whistle, rescheduled to the 3 PM slot amid Sky Sports’ marquee billing and Palace’s 17-game unbeaten streak under Oliver Glasner’s tactical renaissance. Chris Kavanagh, the notebook-wielding ref who’s already flashed 32 yellows this term (3.56 per game average), took charge with Dan Cook and Adam Nunn on linesman’s duty—his history with both clubs including that contentious 2025 Community Shield where he awarded Palace a Van Dijk penalty. Ismaila Sarr’s 23rd-minute opener—a venomous corner flick that exposed Liverpool’s zonal frailties—had the Holmesdale End in rapture, with Glasner’s Eagles dominating through set-piece sorcery and Jean-Philippe Mateta’s aerial menace. Liverpool, rotated with Slot benching Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold to preserve for Europe, huffed and puffed: 22 shots, 68% possession, but Alisson’s palms the only savior until the late chaos.

Enter the equalizer: Ryan Gravenberch’s whipped cross from the right found Salah in the box, whose deft chest control—only it wasn’t. Replays, pored over by Match of the Day and now Hackett, show the Egyptian King’s arm ballooning the ball downward before he teed up Harvey Elliott for the cutback. Chiesa, the £12.5 million Juventus import, rifled home from 12 yards—a grandstand strike that sparked wild celebrations and a medical emergency halt (a fan collapse, treated for 10 minutes). But VAR—led by Michael Salisbury—waved it through, with the Premier League’s Match Centre X post declaring: “The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed there was no conclusive evidence that Salah handled the ball in the build-up.”7dce72 Palace’s Chris Richards, the USMNT defender who marshaled the backline, wasn’t buying it: quote-tweeting a frozen frame of Salah’s elbow deflection with “I knew I wasn’t seeing things. #Justice #thanksEddie,” a post that racked 150,000 likes and retweets from Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi.fb0115

Hackett’s verdict, dropping like a bombshell on Sunday morning, dismantles the call with surgical precision. The 72-year-old, who oversaw PGMOL from 2007-2010 and officiated 1,200+ games, labeled it “a clear and obvious error” under IFAB Law 12: deliberate handball by making the body “unnaturally bigger.” “Salah’s arm is away from his body, deflecting the ball deliberately—it’s as blatant as they come,” Hackett wrote, citing the cross’s trajectory (Gravenberch’s delivery struck Salah’s bicep at a 45-degree angle, per Hawk-Eye data). “VAR protocol demands intervention for ‘clear error’; this was textbook. Palace were denied a free-kick, and the goal stands? Robbery.” He slammed Salisbury’s review as “perfunctory,” echoing Slot’s own post-match grumble: “We have to do better on decisions.”99af45 If overturned, Chiesa’s strike is chalked off, Palace lead 1-0, and Nketiah’s late rocket seals a cleaner 2-0—Liverpool’s winning streak ends, but without the equalizer’s false hope that fueled the medical delay drama.

The implications? Seismic. Liverpool drop to a 1-0 loss in this alternate script, but fans now view the 2-1 as a “stolen point” denied, shrinking Slot’s buffer to two over City and fueling conspiracy threads: “Kavanagh’s a Liverpool fan—check his X likes,” one viral post claimed, amassing 200,000 views.472a61 X erupted under #VARRobbery, with @LFCFamily’s thread—”Hackett nails it: Salah’s arm was a mile out. Palace robbed, we gifted a lifeline”—hitting 500,000 engagements.efea56 Rival glee poured in: @PalaceFanatic: “Keith confirms what we knew—Eze’s wall push was minor; Salah’s mitt was major. Justice for Eddie!”—retweeted by Glasner himself. Pundits piled on: Gary Neville on Sky: “Hackett’s right—VAR’s inconsistency kills trust. If that’s not deliberate, what’s the bar?” Jamie Carragher, Liverpool’s own, defended: “Arm close to body—debatable, not blatant.”971c1a

This isn’t isolated VAR vertigo. Kavanagh’s season—four penalties awarded, including Palace’s Shield spot-kick—has sparked 15 flashpoints, per Squawka, while the league’s Match Centre clarifications (like this one) aim to quell fury but often fan flames.78d2dc Palace, now fifth with 12 points, eye a top-four charge; Liverpool, prepping for Wolves’ Molineux ambush, drill set-pieces under Aaron Briggs amid Alexander-Arnold’s hammy woes. Slot, yellow-carded for protesting Sarr’s goal (a corner deflection off Palace’s own man?), vowed: “We focus forward—decisions even out.” But Hackett’s words linger: “Fans deserve transparency; this erodes it.”

Broader echoes? The 2025-26 campaign’s VAR saga—Eze’s disallowed free-kick vs. Chelsea (wall encroachment), Senesi’s dodged red at Anfield—mirrors a league in flux, with IFAB trialing “live VAR audio” pilots.f82355 For Liverpool, atop with 21 from eight (post-loss? Seven wins pre, now six—wait, eight games, 18 points? Three-point lead holds), the verdict stings: a “moral win” for Palace, but Slot’s machine exposed. As Mersey mists swirl, Anfield faithful chant “Allez Allez”—but Hackett’s ghost haunts: was it triumph, or theft? The Kop rethinks; the debate rages. In football’s flawed forge, verdicts forge views anew.