Liverpool: Arne Slot says VAR has gone against his side this season - is he right?

Football issues correspondentPublished4 hours ago1312 CommentsIt could have been very different for Arne Slot's Liverpool against Paris St-Germain on Tuesday night.

Trailing 2-0 from the first leg, the Reds were given a 64th-minute spot-kick which might have transformed the tie.

Then the video assistant referee (VAR) stepped in to tell referee Maurizio Mariani he had made a mistake.

For Slot, it was the story of his season.

Five minutes after play restarted, Ousmane Dembele scored and PSG went on to win 2-0 on the night, and 4-0 on aggregate.

"I'm not surprised," Slot said. "So many decisions have gone against us this season.

Is Slot right to feel hard done by?

The controversial moment came when Alexis Mac Allister went to claim a loose ball inside the area.

The Argentina international placed his body in front of PSG defender Willian Pacho, before going to ground.

Mariani pointed to the spot but the VAR, Marco di Bello, very quickly sent him to the pitchside monitor.

You can argue whether that was enough to cause the Liverpool player to fall over, but usually contact means there should be no clear and obvious error.

So why might there have been an intervention?

The bedrock of a review is how the referee describes the incident to the VAR.

Did the referee give it for a push? Or a trip?

Slot referenced two incidents in his news conference, but hinted he had a much longer list.

One was a penalty conceded at Brentford. A free-kick had been awarded for a soft foul by Virgil van Dijk on Dango Ouattara.

It was one of those boot-on-boot challenges which referee Tim Robinson probably felt did not meet the threshold for a penalty.

Yet it was not a clear and obvious error to give a foul, so a soft free-kick became a penalty by default. Slot had a point.

There is a difference with Tuesday's incident. Van Dijk was clearly making a tackle, whereas contact from Pacho seemed to be incidental rather than a challenge on an opponent.

Slot also referenced a penalty awarded to Leeds United at Elland Road.

You can understand why Slot might feel a little aggrieved.

As well as the spot-kicks conceded at Brentford and Leeds, goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was penalised for bringing down Manchester City's Jeremy Doku in November at the Etihad.

Only Aston Villa and Tottenham have had fewer, and they are yet to get a spot-kick.

Liverpool have had five negative goal outcomes - two disallowed for them and three conceded. Again, only the Cottagers come out worse on seven goals.

They are Virgil van Dijk's disallowed goal against Man City, when an offside Andrew Robertson ducked under the ball. And a red card for Brighton's Diego Gomez at Anfield.

These are the incidents Slot may have been referring to.

For instance, there was Florian Wirtz's penalty claim against Arsenal in January after he was challenged by Leandro Trossard.

The Premier League's Key Match Incidents Panel voted 3:2 that the on-field decision of no penalty was correct, which shows it was a borderline call.

In the game at Brentford in October, there was a 3:2 vote in favour of no spot-kick for a challenge by Nathan Collins on Cody Gakpo.

But it can go the other way too. Liverpool might count themselves fortunate after Konate's challenge on City's Omar Marmoush in February. That was also a 3:2 vote in favour of no spot-kick.

We have heard City boss Pep Guardiola and Manchester United manager Michael Carrick bemoan their luck with referees this season.

Looking at the statistics, maybe Slot does have more reason to complain.

Refereeing v Atletico 'a robbery' - Barca's Raphinha

Latest Liverpool news, analysis and fan views

Ask about Liverpool - what do you want to know?