Jota accusation: Ex-Premier League official hits out after Liverpool footage
Liverpool beat Wolves on Sunday but the result was marred by two controversial incidents.
Two decisions in the 16 February contest resulted in favourable outcomes for the Reds as they secured a narrow victory to restore a seven-point advantage at the summit of the Premier League.
Ibrahima Konate was replaced by Jarrell Quansah at half-time after he narrowly avoided a second yellow card for a challenge on Matheus Cunha.
Then in the second half, Diogo Jota went down in the penalty area from an Emmanuel Agbadou challenge but the referee eventually ruled that he dived.
Liverpool star Diogo Jota slammed for dive against Wolves
Former Premier League referee Jeff Winter has slammed Jota for his involvement in the penalty incident that Simon Hooper initially gave and believes the Reds star should have been booked.
He then was sent to the monitor and decided to change his decision, which was ultimately correct as the Portugal forward went down under minimal contact but did not give the 28-year-old a booking.
Speaking to Grovesnor Casinos (17 February), Winter said: “From the referee’s angle—and most people’s angle—you would have said penalty straight away. But in reality, it was a blatant dive.
“The only thing the officials got wrong was that Jota wasn’t booked for simulation. He saw the challenge coming, took his opportunity, and threw himself to the ground.
“VAR should have stepped in and told the referee to take another look. If it wasn’t a penalty—and it clearly wasn’t—then it had to be a yellow card for diving.”
Diogo Jota and Liverpool will not care about criticism
The Liverpool man should have been booked for simulation, there is no doubt about that as replays showed that he went down with minimal, if any, contact.
However, he nor the Anfield outfit will care about criticism with three huge matches on the horizon in the next eight days.
They will just be relieved that they held on to secure the three points after a tense second half in which the visitors nearly equalised but for the intervention of Jarell Quansah.
The Reds face a crucial week in the Premier League title race with trips to Aston Villa (19 February) and Manchester City (23 February) before they host Newcastle (26 February).
The only thing that the player will be focused on is getting back into form and helping his side securing the most points that they possibly can from now to the end of the season to ward off Arsenal.
If he can stay fit and get back to his best level, he could prove to be a crucial asset and score vital goals to decide the destination of the title.