Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards has branded VAR’s awarding of a Liverpool penalty at Crystal Palace as one of the “worst decisions” of the season.
Referee Kevin Friend initially opted not to penalise Palace keeper Vicente Guaita after he made contact with Diogo Jota in the box.
However, after a lengthy review and consultation with the VAR monitor, the referee overturned his original ruling, and the spot-kick was coolly dispatched by Fabinho to secure a crucial three points for the Reds.
Speaking on BBC Match of the Day, Richards lamented Friend’s “ridiculous” decision, with fellow pundit Jermaine Jenas asserting that referees have “lost all control”.
Richards is not the only one to take issue with the controversial decision. Former Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock told TalkSport that the top clubs “get away with murder”, whilst many fans have taken to social media to complain of unfair bias towards the so-called Big Six.
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But just how many controversial decisions go in Liverpool ’s favour?
Notably, at the end of last season the Reds were joint bottom of the VAR table with a net score of minus six overturns, meaning that significantly more decisions had gone against Klopp’s men than had gone for them.
This season, however, Liverpool are joint third in the VAR table, with a net score of plus two, suggesting that more rulings are going their way.
That’s not to say that the Reds are receiving preferential treatment. Yesterday’s contentious penalty aside, it would be difficult to argue with the majority of decisions that have been overturned in their favour.
In August, VAR spotted a deliberate handball by Reece James which led to the Chelsea man being sent off in the 1-1 draw at Anfield, whilst Mo Salah’s disallowed strike away at Brentford was found to be clearly onside after a review by Paul Tierney.
Klopp’s men have also been on the receiving end of some dubious decisions against them, perhaps best exemplified by their 2-2 draw at Tottenham in December.
England captain Harry Kane was lucky to escape with just a yellow card after a dangerous tackle on Andy Robertson in the first half, whilst VAR saw the Scotsman sent off for his own mistimed lunge in the second.
In the same game, a seemingly stonewall penalty for Liverpool was overlooked after Diogo Jota stayed on his feet after he was clattered inside the box.
On the other side of Stanley Park, Everton were amongst the biggest winners in terms of VAR last season, sitting joint top of the overturns table with a score of plus four.
It’s been a different story for the Toffees this season, with them currently having a net score of minus two overturns.
In particular, VAR’s decision to cancel a spot-kick for the Blues back in November after Hugo Lloris was adjudged not to have fouled Richarlison inflamed opinion among fans online.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, runaway league leaders Manchester City have come under fire after benefiting from a number of controversial decisions this season.
Ederson’s apparent foul on Newcastle’s Ryan Fraser in December went unpunished, despite the fact that the Brazilian stopper’s challenge was undoubtedly worse than Guaita’s on Jota.
Guardiola’s side were also the beneficiaries of a questionable handball decision against Wolves last month.
While controversial decisions involving the ‘Big Six’ are often those that grab the headlines, last season’s VAR results show that Chelsea were the only such side to benefit from the technology.
With that in mind, whilst incidents such as Liverpool’s penalty yesterday provide major talking points, they are unlikely to drastically alter the standings come the end of the season.
