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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Matt Verri

Jurgen Klopp slams VAR as Liverpool boss fumes at Martin Odegaard handball decision

Jurgen Klopp was left bemused at VAR's failure to award Liverpool a penalty for what appeared to be handball from Martin Odegaard.

Arsenal remained top of the Premier League after a 1-1 draw at Anfield, having taken the lead in the opening minutes through a header from Gabriel.

Liverpool equalised in the first-half through Mohamed Salah, who cut inside beyond Oleksandr Zinchenko and hammered a shot into the top corner, but the hosts felt they should already have been level by that point.

Ten minutes earlier, Liverpool's penalty appeals were waved away, despite Odegaard handling the ball as Salah looked to turn past him in the box. A VAR checking took placed as play continued, but the original decision was not overturned.

The referee was not asked to look at the pitchside monitor either, with the Liverpool boss left stunned at the incident.

"Yes I have seen it," Klopp said in a post-match interview. "I am pretty sure someone will come to explain it to me why it was not a handball but I don't know how?

"I don't say that the ref can see it because I don't know where he was in that moment.

"But how can a guy in an office see that and not come to the conclusion that maybe, possibly it could be worth the referee having another look?"

PGMOL told Sky Sports that the penalty had not been given because it was "not a clear and obvious error as Odegaard's arm is moving towards the body and not the ball as he goes down".

Gary Neville suggested that the Arsenal captain had slipped and moved his arm to regain his balance, rather than trying to make contact with the ball.

"I think he may just slip there," Neville told Sky Sports.

"That right leg is giving way which means his left arm goes down. I think that’s what saves him. I think he’s lucky but it might be that his foot gives way which means he puts his arm down to try and rebalance and that saves him."

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