Arne Slot had a surprisingly philosophical take on two big refereeing decisions in Liverpool loss

Arne Slot took a philosophical view of two big refereeing decisions from Liverpool’s defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.

Craig Pawson and his team of officials had a rather eventful evening at Anfield, particularly in the final few minutes as the visitors were awarded a penalty from which Erling Haaland scored the winner, and Dominik Szoboszlai was later sent off for denying the Norwegian a clear goalscoring opportunity (DOGSO).

What did Slot say about red card and penalty incidents?

The decision to show a red card to the Hungarian also involved a long-distance Rayan Cherki goal being disallowed, and while the Reds’ head coach admitted that it mightn’t have been in the spirit of the game, he acknowledged that the referee was obliged to act by the letter of the law.

Slot said (via liverpoolfc.com): “I can live with the fact, although I don’t like it, that the referee follows the rulebook and Dominik makes a foul on Haaland in that last situation, which is a clear shirt-pull and he was through to goal so he would have scored.

“That’s a red card and I think the Sunderland manager is really happy that he gives the red card. That’s the rulebook and you follow the rulebook.

“If you like football you say, ‘Ah, leave it as it is, it’s a goal, it’s good for them, it’s good for everyone.’ If you are the Sunderland manager you prefer to see a red card. That’s the rule, and follow the rules is all we ask.”

On the penalty that Man City were awarded for a foul by Alisson Becker on Matheus Nunes, even though the ball had gone out of play at the time of the collision, Slot admitted that he’d have asked for a spot kick had it happened the other way around.

He said: “If it would have happened on the other side I would have asked for a penalty. If I would have got it, I’m not sure. There is contact; we cannot debate that. The ball is out of play; we cannot debate that. When he [Alisson] makes the foul, he [Nunes] can never get the ball anymore. For me, this is a clear decision.

“This is one where I think but I’m not sure, if the referee doesn’t give a penalty – and he was waiting, waiting, waiting and listening to his linesman; at least that’s what I thought – and then he gave it, then the VAR will never interfere again. But what if he wouldn’t have given it? Would then the VAR have interfered? That’s what we will never know.”

A mature and measured response from Slot to two costly calls

Slot has given a very mature and measured assessment of those two decisions when he could legitimately have let rip, like he did over Marc Guehi receiving a yellow card and not a red for what looked like a DOGSO offence on Mo Salah when the game was 0-0.

Whilst he didn’t agree with the penalty decision, he was at least able to take a step back and admit that he’d have viewed it differently if it happened at the other end of the pitch.

On the red card for Szoboszlai, there was a show of empathy towards Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris, who might well have had something to say if the officials had simply let Cherki’s goal stand and overridden the shirt-pulling instances involving the Liverpool midfielder and Haaland.

Alas, the Hungarian will now be suspended for the game at the Stadium of Light, leaving Slot with a heightened selection crisis at right-back, and the Reds have been left to pay a heavy price over a few refereeing decisions from yesterday.

Unfortunately the events of Sunday can’t be changed, but what the ailing Premier League champions can (and need to) fix is their habit of throwing away crucial points with the concession of late goals, a recurring theme throughout this ongoing nightmare of a season.

Unless that is rectified, there won’t be Champions League football at Anfield in 2026/27, and that’s something for which referees can’t be blamed.

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