A major event occurred during a crucial encounter between Liverpool and Arsenal, leaving both Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher perplexed on behalf of Liverpool. Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard was engaged in the incident, which involved a probable handball that went overlooked by the match officials.
Despite giving Arsenal an early lead with a header from Odegaard’s free kick, Gabriel Magalhaes became the centre of controversy midway through the first half.
The ball struck Odegaard’s hand as Mohamed Salah tried a flick-on, appearing to be a clear case warranting a penalty. The handball was missed by referee Chris Kavanagh, allowing Arsenal to launch a counter-attack. Despite David Coote’s VAR intervention, the decision not to award Liverpool a penalty stood, causing Neville, a former Manchester United defender, to acknowledge Odegaard’s lucky situation.
The official rationale from PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) was revealed at halftime, suggesting that the incident did not fulfil the criterion of “not a clear and obvious error as Odegaard’s arm is moving towards the body and not the ball as he goes down.” Odegaard’s arm apparently moved towards his body rather than the ball as he fell, explaining this.
Despite the disputed decision, Liverpool rallied before halftime, with Salah scoring an outstanding solo goal in the 29th minute, setting up a vital second half in this high-stakes encounter.
BELOW, WATCH HOW ODEGAARD TOUCHES THE BALL WITH HIS HAND IN ARSENAL’S PENALTY AREA:
https://x.com/LFCTransferRoom/status/1738619893111554210?s=20
