Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has explained why Roberto Firmino’s handball in the build-up to Mohamed Salah's disallowed goal was viewed as deliberate.
Liverpool ended a run of five league games without a win - four of those without a goal - with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Jose Mourinho’s side on Thursday night.
Currently leading 2-1, the Reds thought they had added a third when Salah smashed the ball past Hugo Lloris from close-range following a fine counter-attacking move.
But no sooner had the ball hit the back of the net, a VAR review was already taking place over a possible handball by Firmino in the build-up.
Jon Moss, the man on VAR duty for the game, then suggested to referee Martin Atkinson that he take a look at the incident at the pitchside monitor.
And after the match referee watched a couple of replays of the incident, he decided the forward had handled the ball deliberately in the build-up to the goal.
Many Reds fans on social media questioned the call - making the points that Eric Dier appeared to handball it first, the incident was significantly before the goal and crucially that the Firmino handball may not have been deliberate. But Clattenburg had a different view on how it played out.
“Had Roberto Firmino accidentally handled the ball in the build-up, Mohamed Salah's goal would have stood,” Clattenburg wrote in the Mail when reviewing the incident.
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“But what VAR Jonathan Moss suggested to referee Martin Atkinson was that the handball was deliberate.
“He sees how Firmino moves his arm towards the ball while he is wrestling with Eric Dier and it keeps it under control, before Liverpool go on to score.
“Atkinson checks his pitch-side monitor and concurs, chalking it off. It comes after a change from IFAB that a handball in the immediate build-up to a goal, accidental or not, would be disallowed.
“However, a handball in the build-up to a goal would not be reviewed unless it was deliberate. This fell into the category of deliberate.
“Overall VAR was used well in this game, from Son Heung-min's ruled-out opener to this disallowed goal for Firmino's handball.”
The win moved Liverpool four points behind current Premier League leaders Manchester City, although the Reds have played a game more.
