Liverpool continued their march towards the Premier League title having overcome a spirited Norwich City side at Carrow Road on Saturday evening. The Reds dominated possession (as per BBC Sport) but it took until the 78th minute for them to break the deadlock through substitute Sadio Mane.
His excellent control and finish ensured Jurgen Klopp’s side made it 25 wins in 26 Premier League games this season. However, fans of the Premier League leaders were left furious when referee Stuart Attwell and his team failed to award Liverpool a penalty for a foul on Virgil van Dijk.
Should Liverpool have had a penalty for the foul on Van Dijk?
Yes
No
Here is how some of the club’s supporters reacted to the footage posted on social media of the incident.
The ref did his best to drop us points. Even a clean and clear Mane’s goal was called into VAR.
— Firmansah 2023 (@penggemarsemar) February 16, 2020
Imagine the outrage if a Liverpool defender did that
— Gareth Phillips (@hendyredman) February 16, 2020
Grabs VVD, pulls him, holds him, then pushes him down and dived on top of him…..#var
— LFC Alan love football & loved Madrid & ??LFC #SIX (@BCPcranes) February 16, 2020
actually disgusting how they got away with this
— a (@ALICE_LFC27) February 16, 2020
Man’e put a finger on the defender and everybody screamed foul, VVD get grabbed with 4 hands and nobody bats an eyelid ?
— The Unbearable Reds (@6Xs13) February 16, 2020
Decisions against us don’t get talked about enough as we’ve gone on to win the game.
— Makkan 1970 ? (@smakk1970) February 16, 2020
It was a disgrace that was not given as a pen
He wasnt even looking at the ball …
— TOP OF THE KOPS (@Shafty101) February 16, 2020
What do we think?
In our view, Liverpool certainly had a case regarding that particular incident and it’s no wonder the fans were left angry by the decision to overlook the actions of both Lukas Rupp and Teemu Pukki who made no attempt to win the ball but were solely looking to prevent the Dutch defender getting into a threatening position.