BBC Sport pundits Dion Dublin and Kevin Kilbane have both said they disagree with the decision to award Liverpool a penalty in their 4-0 win over Newcastle United on Wednesday.
Reds attacker Mohamed Salah won and converted a spot kick early in the second half to help send Jurgen Klopp’s side on their way to victory.
Dublin wasn’t happy, though: “That’s the contact Mo has in the box, it’s that and it’s away,” he said on Final Score. “I’m actually wincing, think umm…”
Kilbane concurred: “We’ve become so accustomed to, say when Dion and I are commentating on games, to say ‘there’s contact’. But that’s not enough to send him over. He’s dived, he has dived.”
"He's dived. He has dived."
A controversial penalty for Liverpool?
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— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) December 26, 2018
OPINION
It’s hard to disagree with the verdict reached by Messrs Dublin and Kilbane, here. It was an extremely soft penalty, there’s no two ways about it. Yes, there’s contact, but it’s extremely minimal and if you’re giving a penalty for that you have to award ten penalties a game. Dummett touches Salah with his arm but it wasn’t a shove or a tug back or anything like that, it was a grazing touch. Salah is going to do his thing and manipulate the situation to favour his team, which he did, but the referee has to rise above his shenanigans and simply say ‘no, not this time’. Obviously Dummett is giving the referee a decision to make and that’s never a smart thing to do, but you can’t say he’s actually fouled Salah there. The Egyptian could have kept going if he so choose. It was his decision to go down, Dummett didn’t take it out of his hands through his challenge. From that perspective you have to say the decision was harsh on Newcastle, who could’ve done without a call like this on Wednesday.