VAR and the referee group s major misjudgment? The referee s penalty in the first round of the Premier League has caused controversy

VAR and the referee team made a major misjudgment. Liverpool almost missed the red card

Shortly after Liverpool defeated Bournemouth 4-2 at home in the first round of the Premier League, Liverpool legend Carragher publicly criticized the VAR referee team, pointing out that the referee on duty missed a noticeable handball foul by Bournemouth defender Marco Senesi in the game, and he should have sent off a red card.

Controversial scene: Handball interception was not judged, VAR did not intervene in the 14th minute of the game, Salah sent a direct pass, trying to create an opportunity for new aid Ekitic. Bournemouth defender Senesi made a mistake in the recovery process, and the ball rebounded and Ekitic gained a one-on-one goal - although the offensive player was still a distance away from the penalty area at this time.

After realizing the mistake, Senesi reacted quickly and stretched out his left arm to block the ball. Then, the ball rebounded and hit Liverpool player Gakbo's arm, but the referee called Gakbo's handball and awarded the ball rights to Bournemouth.

This penalty immediately triggered strong protests from Liverpool's coaching staff and players. Head coach Slot angrily waved his arms on the sidelines, and the players of the team surrounded the referee and complained, believing that Senesi deliberately stopped the ball with his hands, destroying the obvious goal opportunity and should have been sent off directly by a red card.

However, despite the huge controversy, the VAR referee team did not intervene and maintained the original judgment.

Sky Sports commentator Peter Drury explained the reason why VAR did not intervene in the live broadcast: "VAR conducted a verification and believed that the player did not take the initiative to control the ball, but the ball bounced from one person to the other, which was an unintentional contact."

In response, Carragher retorted on the spot: "This is obviously a handball foul! Senesi knew clearly what he was doing - this is the instinctive reaction of the defender, but there is no doubt that he was touching the ball with his hands and blocking the attack!"

The 47-year-old former Reds defender further pointed out: "The information received by the referee is wrong." He emphasized that even if it did not ultimately constitute a red card condition to "destroy obvious goal opportunity", this handball should be considered a foul, and at least it should be changed to Liverpool's free kick, not Garkepo's handball.

The Premier League referees' center then confirmed the decision of the referee team. The official explanation said that the reason why VAR did not recommend a change of judgment was because the incident was too far from the goal, so it did not constitute a red card condition to "destroy obvious goal opportunity", and it was not regarded as a "clear and obvious handball foul."

The Premier League official issued a statement on X platform: "VAR has reviewed Senesi's decision not to be sent off, confirming that this situation does not constitute a significant handball or destroys the chance of scoring, because the incident is far away from the goal."

Ironically, in the 37th minute, Senesi was once again broken through by Ekitic. The French star easily swiped past the defender, calmly pushed the ball to score, scoring his first goal in the Premier League, helping Liverpool take the lead.