A former Premier League referee has criticized VAR after Liverpool was denied what appeared to be a clear penalty against Chelsea

He expressed that he was “simply astounded” by the ruling when Alexander Isak was fouled by James. Galatasaray received a similar penalty against Liverpool, but it seems that in the Premier League, the rules and decisions vary.

Premier League has clarified the VAR decision following Liverpool’s penalty verdict against Chelsea.

Liverpool faced a late scare in the first half against Chelsea when Alejandro Garnacho fell under Dominik Szoboszlai’s challenge, leading to penalty appeals that were dismissed.

The Premier League has provided an official explanation for why Chelsea was not awarded a penalty late in the first half of their match against Liverpool.

After taking the lead through Moises Caicedo, the home team believed they should have been given a chance to increase their advantage from the penalty spot when Alejandro Garnacho went down following contact from Dominik Szoboszlai.

The former Manchester United winger claimed he was pushed by the Liverpool midfielder, but referee Anthony Taylor rejected the appeals.

VAR subsequently confirmed the referee’s decision, resulting in Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca receiving a yellow card for his furious protests and arguments with Liverpool’s coaching staff.

In explaining why VAR did not intervene, a post from the Premier League Match Centre’s account on X stated: “The referee’s decision of no penalty was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the contact from Szoboszlai on Garnacho considered to be minimal.”

This decision provided a reprieve for Liverpool, which has been struggling following consecutive defeats against Crystal Palace and Galatasaray.

Arne Slot made five changes after the midweek trip to Turkey for the Champions League, including one enforced change as Giorgi Mamardashvili made his Premier League debut, stepping in for the injured Alisson Becker in goal.

Florian Wirtz was one of the players who had to make way as calls for his removal intensified due to his challenging start with the Reds.

However, it wasn’t long before the former Bayer Leverkusen star was summoned from the bench, coming on as a substitute for Conor Bradley at half-time.

In justifying his choice to bench Wirtz, Slot remarked: “We have a busy schedule, and when you have many matches, it’s quite common, as seen globally, to occasionally rotate one or two players. That’s our approach as well,” Slot stated prior to the match.

“Then you aim to choose the matches, before they commence, that you believe are the best fit for that specific player, so you cannot equate the playing styles of Crystal Palace and Chelsea.