- Liverpool’s title hopes suffered another dent with draw against West Ham
- The Reds could have scored a winner later before Anthony Taylor intervened.
- Arne Slot needs to be his own manager. Replacing Jurgen Klopp is an impossible task. Don’t try to emulate him – Listen to the It’s all starting! podcast
Match of the Day experts Ian Wright and Alan Shearer agreed in condemning Anthony Taylor for his “nightmare” decision during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw against West Ham.
The Reds’ title hopes suffered another dent when they were controlled by David Moyes’ men at the London Stadium, and the match included a controversial refereeing decision that appeared to deny them a chance of winning.
With four minutes left on the clock, Hammers goalkeeper Alphonse Areola fell to the ground after collecting the ball from a cross into the box. He took his time getting back to his feet and referee Taylor signaled for play to continue and did not blow the whistle.
Areola then rolled the ball and Cody Gakpo ran towards the French goalkeeper in an attempt to pass the ball into the empty goal. However, Taylor then blew his whistle without explanation and prevented the Dutchman from giving Liverpool the lead later on.
His decision was questioned by Wright, who claimed that the referee caused confusion by not initially stopping play when the match occurred.
Anthony Taylor’s controversial call at the end of Liverpool’s 2-2 draw against West Ham has been called into question
Ian Wright believes the official had a nightmare and was confused by his sequence of actions.
“The referee had a real nightmare.” The former Arsenal striker said on Match of the Day. ‘The referee runs out and tells the game to continue.
He stops and tells the doorman to get up. He says “come on, let’s get on with this.” He says that a couple of times. He (Areola) finally gets up and then he (Taylor) runs away.
‘It says play. Now, he has turned his back on her, I think Gakpo should have run and finished that. Now he’s blown the whistle, I don’t know what’s going on. He goes there… I don’t know what’s going on there now.’
Shearer was equally perplexed by Taylor’s call and insisted the “mess” was his fault.
‘It is a disaster. The referee made the mistake of not blowing the whistle. Shearer said. “When the goalkeeper hit the post, that’s when he should have stopped the play and whistled.”
“He hasn’t blown the whistle, which is a mistake.” The referee calls the doctors and physiotherapists! They’re not even prepared, they don’t even believe he’s hurt. He is not injured, he (Taylor) has tried to rectify the mistake he made.”
And he added: “It was a very complicated situation caused by the referee.”
Before the incident, Jarrod Bowen and Andy Robertson had exchanged goals either side of half-time before Areola’s own goal appeared to have set the Reds on course for an important victory to keep the pressure on Arsenal and Manchester City.
However, Michail Antonio equalized 13 minutes from time to deprive the visitors of two important points and they returned to Anfield with just one.
The eventful clash also included a heated exchange between Mohamed Salah and Jurgen Klopp as the Egyptian was about to be substituted on the pitch in the second half.
Klopp appeared to say something to the Egyptian that provoked an angry reaction, and that led to Salah continually waving his arms, pointing at the pitch and then pointing at his coach.
Alan Shearer also believed the referee ruined the situation during the clash at the London Stadium.
The match also featured a heated exchange between Liverpool star Mohamed Salah and manager Jurgen Klopp.
Shearer sympathized with Liverpool’s talisman and could understand his frustrations: “We don’t know what Klopp said to him there.” He said something that irritated you.
“He’s obviously right to be excluded and probably rightly so, although he hasn’t reached the heights that Mo Salah has reached over the years. He’s been an incredible player.”
