‘I said to the referee…’ – What Harvey Elliott told Sam Barrott after fateful penalty decision | OneFootball

Harvey Elliott has revealed what he told the referee following the penalty decision which ultimately proved fatal to Liverpool’s FA Cup hopes for 2025.

A dour game against Plymouth Argyle was settled shortly after half-time when the Reds midfielder was penalised for handball inside the box, with Ryan Hardie stepping up to dispatch the resulting spot kick and send the Championship’s bottom club into the fifth round.

The 21-year-old pleaded his innocence after Sam Barrott blew for a foul, but his protests fell on deaf ears, and the decision was final in the absence of VAR.

What did Elliott say about penalty decision?

As per liverpoolfc.com, Elliott said of the penalty decision: “I mean, the arguments could go on forever, to be honest. I was so close to him and I said to the referee, ‘Do you expect me to jump with my arms by my side? That’s just not a natural way of jumping.’

“I was trying my hardest to block the ball and my arm was up there but it was about a metre away from the player shooting. But it’s football, it’s a kick in the teeth really.

“It’s not nice to lose this way and it’s not nice for it to be on you, as I gave away the penalty. Unfortunately it’s just one of those things. I need to keep my head up and keep pushing on.”

Image via The Emirates FA Cup on YouTube

Penalty decision was fair despite Elliott’s protests

We can see Elliott’s point about the short distance between him and Darko Gyabi when the Argyle player hooked the ball behind him, although Arne Slot’s post-match verdict on the penalty decision was telling.

The Liverpool head coach acknowledged that it was a ‘clear penalty’, and we’d have to agree with the boss on this one. The 21-year-old’s arms were raised aloft before the ball was struck, and had it happened in reverse at the other end of the pitch, we’d have been screaming for a spot kick.

Also, irrespective of Barrott’s decision, the Reds still had almost the entire second half to respond to going a goal down but summoned absolutely nothing until the 80-minute mark, with Conor Hazard’s goal not exactly under siege until the dying moments of the match.

Elliott and LFC will simply have to take this one on the chin and learn from it in future games – the harsh truth is that the result was deserved.

Yesterday was unpleasant for Liverpool, but attention now switches to the Merseyside derby on Wednesday night and the opportunity to go nine points clear at the Premier League summit, a position that every other club in England would love to occupy.