Premier League ’embarrass’ with official Liverpool vs Bournemouth statement
Arne Slot was seen fuming as Liverpool faced Bournemouth in the Premier League on Friday.
Anfield hosted Andoni Iraola’s team on 15 August, with Hugo Ekitike giving the Reds the lead in the 37th minute.
The ex-Eintracht Frankfurt striker’s Premier League debut couldn’t have gotten off to a better start as he calmly finished past Djordje Petrovic after a strong run.
While the Merseyside outfit went into the break with a one-goal advantage, they arguably had every right to be unhappy about the referee’s call in the opening quarter of the game.
Liverpool right to fume about Marco Senesi red card call vs Bournemouth
Anthony Taylor’s decision not to hand Marco Senesi a red card in the 13th minute was upheld by VAR.
The Bournemouth defender was the last man at around the halfway line and up against Ekitike as the ball bounced off his thigh to his arms.
While it’s understandable why a doul wasn’t given for that particular action, the 28-year-old subsequently tried to claw the ball back and seemed to make contact with it.
- Slot’s team had 61 per cent possession in the first half.
- The Reds created three big chances and missed two.
- The Merseyside outfit comitted four fouls in the opening 45 minutes.
It feels like the officials didn’t consider the succeeding reaction from the Argentine defender after the ball bounced off him, with Jamie Carragher believing it was handball on Sky Sports commentary at Anfield.
The Premier League released a statement on 15 August on X, which read: “The referee’s call of no red card to Senesi was checked and confirmed by VAR — with the action deemed not to be a clear handball offence nor denial of a goal scoring opportunity (DOGSO), due to the distance from goal.”
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Slot will hope Senesi handball decision has no impact on final result
Slot’s team are favourites to win the Premier League this season, and the Dutch manager will want to get off to a perfect start.
Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards have built a strong attack to give the Reds the best chance of retaining the title.
While more defensive additions may be needed at the Merseyside outfit, they have enough quality up front to score their way to another league trophy.
Liverpool want to add Alexander Isak to their ranks before the end of August, which will certainly leave other teams terrified of Slot’s attacking options.
Hopefully, the Reds won’t be affected by the VAR call on the apparent handball.
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