Alan Shearer told Amazon Prime that he agreed with the claim that the only reason Eric Dier handled the ball during Tottenham’s clash with Liverpool tonight because of Mo Salah moving his arm towards the player.
Ex-referee Mark Clattenburg made it clear that Liverpool shouldn’t have been awarded a penalty kick during their win against Spurs at Anfield because Dier’s arm wasn’t above his shoulder, not did he make himself bigger.
Earlier on in the season, as Dier knows full well, such a situation would have resulted in Liverpool been awarded a spot-kick, but since then, rules have been tweaked slightly.
Nonetheless, Clattenburg shared why the controversial moment involving Dier and Salah wasn’t a penalty, as Shearer agreed with the ex-Premier League official.
“They can feel aggrieved,” said Clattenburg. “But it’s not a penalty kick. The ball does hit Eric Dier’s hand. But what you do see is as Salah, they are both fighting for the ball, and Salah’s arm comes up, which then moves Dier’s arm towards the ball.
“What I like from the referee so far is that we have a lot of controversies early part of the season and now they are not giving penalties for handball, which is what we want to see when they are not deliberate.
“As he is down, Salah moves his arm slightly up, which then makes the movement of Eric Dier’s arm towards the ball. But his arm isn’t above his shoulder. He hasn’t made himself bigger. It’s just a fight for the ball.”
Shearer added: “I agree with Mark. That would have been given a few months ago but the decision was correct.”
Liverpool opened the scoring in this nerve-racking tactical battle between Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho before Heung-Min Son equalised not long after.
As per, Liverpool were the ones who hogged the ball, with Mourinho ensuring that his side didn’t allow the opposition to breathe in the final third, especially the full-backs.
In the end, Roberto Firmino broke Tottenham hearts with a bullet header to seal all three points.
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