Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has issued an honest verdict on the penalty decision that went against Leeds United at Anfield.
The Whites, playing their first Premier League game in 16 years, saw referee Michael Oliver point to the penalty spot after Mohamed Salah's effort struck the hand of debutant Robin Koch.
Despite that effort taking a significant deflection against Koch's leg, the decision was upheld by VAR and Salah struck his first goal of the season against Marcelo Bielsa's side.
Carragher was not affected by his allegiances to the Merseyside outfit when giving his verdict on the decision though, stating Leeds should feel hard done by.
“It took a deflection, Michael Oliver might not have seen that. It’s extremely harsh to give that as a penalty,” he said on Sky Sports’ commentary.
“I can’t believe that to be honest, I know the handball rule has changed but that’s actually really poor. It’s a harsh decision against Koch, in his first game.”
The handball rules for the new season have been changed, following a number of controversies surrounding handballs last season, but there is still some uncertainty.
In fact, the rules suggest that there was a significant error made by the officials in Leeds' opening Premier League fixture as they read: "Premier League players will be allowed extra leeway when it comes to ricocheted handballs.
"It is often impossible to avoid contact with the ball if it has deflected off the body of an opponent, team-mate or even another part of the own player.
"So a handball will not be awarded if the ball touches a player's hand/arm directly from their own head/body/foot or the head/body/foot of another player who is close/nearby."
