Dermot Gallagher reacts to controversial Cody Gakpo moment in Liverpool v Tottenham
Cody Gakpo was not awarded a penalty against Tottenham because the way the Liverpool forward went down was “too dramatic”, according to Dermot Gallagher.
Gakpo was tripped in the box by Spurs defender Micky van de Ven but referee Paul Tierney waved his appeals away immediately and VAR did not intervene to overturn the decision.
Despite the clear contact, Gallagher feels the player’s reaction to the contact made the referee’s mind up for him.
Speaking on Sky Sports Ref Watch (6 May), he said when asked why a penalty was not given: “I think how [Gakpo] reacted sold it to the referee, to be honest.
“He does get clipped, the referee’s very, very close, [but he] sees [Gakpo] go through the air like that and I think that’s what convinced him not to give the penalty.
“[VAR can see that Gakpo has been tripped] but don’t forget, they have to go on what the referee says. So if the referee says, ‘This is why I haven’t given it’ and you look at the pictures – [the referee] will say, ‘I think [Gakpo] has launched himself through the air’, you look at that picture and you can’t really argue with the referee there.
“As I say, it’s a perfect position and if you look at it, he waves it away immediately and says, ‘No.’
“I think in this case, for me, the referee thinks, ‘He’s been too dramatic’ and that’s changed his mind.”
Liverpool and Cody Gakpo will rightly feel aggrieved
It is fair to say that – had Liverpool not won the game – the decision not to award a penalty made by referee Tierney and the VAR would have come under much greater scrutiny.
The contact is clear in the replays and – as Gallagher mentions more than once – Tierney is in a superb position to assess the action.
Thankfully for Liverpool, they claimed a 4-2 win over Spurs at Anfield, with Gakpo getting on the scoresheet alongside Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Harvey Elliott, while Richarlison and Son Heung-min scored consolation goals for Ange Postecoglou’s visitors.
That result keeps the Reds’ slender title hopes alive – they sit five points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal with two games remaining and four points off second-placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand.
Aston Villa are Liverpool’s next opponents before an Anfield farewell for departing head coach Jurgen Klopp on 19 May against Wolves.
In other Liverpool news, talk has intensified over Salah’s Anfield future.
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