Tim Sherwood insisted Tottenham had unfairly missed a penalty after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s push on Ryan Sessegnon in the first half of action.
The England international had initiated light contact against the Tottenham star, gently pushing him out of the way in a bid to regain possession.
“It’s a push. For me that is a push. Anywhere else on the pitch, that’s a penalty,” the 53-year-old told Optus Sport.
It was a point that Michael Owen couldn’t bring himself to agree with completely, although he noted that he wouldn’t have fussed had the decision gone against his former club.
“There is no doubt that there is a little push,” the ex-Red told the station. “If it’s enough to give a penalty… you’re right on the threshold in my opinion. As it is, it’s kind of 50-50 and Liverpool get away with it.”
The experts’ thoughts on the matter were in stark contrast to Gary Lineker’s perception of the event, who stated that the Academy graduate had stayed within the legal limits of permitted contact.
READ MORE: Gary Lineker comes to Trent’s defense online over controversial first half moment
It’s a moment that has already fueled intense debate on Twitter and inevitably inspired ‘was it a penalty?’ he shouts online, although it seems ridiculous to put the incident under the microscope and compare it to Joao Cancelo’s red card against Fulham.
There is contact from our right back, but it would be ridiculous to see such physicality punished regularly in the future.
We have to be careful, of course, as another referee on another day may view such an incident very differently, but it would have been quite harsh to see a penalty awarded after Sessegnon made more than a meal out of the challenge.
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