What Van Dijk got away with in Liverpool game will have Arsenal fans raging | OneFootball

Fulham achieved a fair result against Liverpool on Sunday, though it was entirely possible the Reds could have stolen a draw had events transpired against them.

The failure to award a penalty against either Virgil van Dijk or Caoimhin Kelleher for clear offences in the 18-yard box had Marco Silva visibly upset in the technical area.

One might also imagine that Arsenal fans will be equally frustrated by the quality of officiating on display given a soft penalty call cost them three points at the weekend.

The Gunners sit 11 points behind Arne Slot’s Liverpool side in second place in the Premier League table.

Van Dijk or Kelleher should have been penalised

(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Whilst there has to be an acceptance of some room for error in officiating, much as the same fans accept player errors, the horrendous lack of consistency can’t be swept under the rug.

Keith Hackett, quite rightly, called out the VAR team supporting referee Chris Kavanagh for failing to encourage the on-pitch official to review two instances of foul play.

The former PGMOL chief spotted Kelleher bring down Andreas Pereira before Virgil van Dijk, shortly after, unfairly impeded Rodrigo Muniz.

“Where is [Matt] Donohue, the VAR, looking? Because there’s two offences that both required a penalty-kick decision. Goalkeeper and Van Dijk,” the Englishman told Football Insider.

“Both guilty of offences inside the penalty area. Beyond belief.”

Both instances were arguably far more clear-cut than the penalty awarded to Everton after Myles Lewis-Skelly was adjudged to have taken Jack Harrison down inside the box.

Arsenal haven’t had a fair shake with officiating calls

It’s hardly the first time Arsenal fans have had cause for complaint – nor the first time that a game has been impacted by a controversial penalty call.

In terms of points lost on the board, the Gunners have been dealt a slightly harsher hand by VAR calls, according to ESPN’s tracker.

But this, of course, doesn’t account for poor-quality officiating, as took place at Goodison Park, to deny Mikel Arteta’s men a valuable three points.

An 11-point lead may very well prove unassailable at this late stage in the 2024/25 season.

However, one can only wonder at the state of the league table had Premier League games been governed by competent officials.