Premier League explains two controversial Liverpool penalty decisions as referee replaced

Cody Gakpo went down under a challenge from Nathan Collins

The Premier League has explained why Liverpool was not awarded a penalty when Cody Gakpo went down in the penalty area during Liverpool's game against Brentford.

Gakpo hit the deck in the closing stages of the first half, but replays showed minimal, if any, contact with the Liverpool forward, and the Premier League issued an explanation for the referee's decision.

A post on X by the Premier League Match Center said: "The referee’s call of no penalty to Liverpool was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that there was no foul by Collins on Gakpo."

Shortly after the incident involving Gakpo, Kevin Schade scored to double Brentford's lead, latching onto a through ball before racing away from Ibrahima Konate and slotting the ball past Giorgi Mamardashvili.

Milos Kerkez pulled a goal back deep into first-half injury time, before it was confirmed at half-time that referee Simon Hooper had sustained an injury, with Tim Robinson replacing him for the second half.

The controversy didn't end at half-time, as Brentford was then awarded a second-half penalty following a challenge from Virgil van Dijk on Dango Outtara.

Replacement referee Robinson initially awarded a free-kick before the video assistant referee intervened to point out that the challenge happened on the line of the penalty area.

Igor Tiago subsequently stepped up to restore Brentford's two-goal advantage.

promoted links

Liverpool FC Official Football Crest Mug - get yours here - https://amzn.to/47ppgY2