Jurgen Klopp expressed his frustration with VAR’s decision not to award a red card to Brighton during Liverpool’s recent draw with the Seagulls.
The match ended in a 2-2 draw, with Lewis Dunk scoring a late equalizer for Brighton after Mohamed Salah’s brace had put Liverpool ahead.
Klopp cannot be satisfied with the result of the match between Liverpool and Brighton
The controversy arose when a penalty was awarded to Liverpool for a foul on Dominik Szoboszlai by Pascal Gross, which led to Salah’s second goal. Despite the suggestion that Gross had denied a clear goalscoring opportunity, he received only a yellow card instead of a red.
Klopp, who has been critical of refereeing decisions in recent weeks, chose not to delve into the specifics of the incident. He told Sky Sports after the game, “I don’t know, I have no idea. I think the foul is in the box and he got a yellow card, but if it was outside? I don’t know. Don’t talk to me about rules, I take what I get.”
The situation where Pascal Gross escaped the red card
Dunk, who was attempting to cover in the incident, disagreed with the idea that a red card should have been shown, stating, “No, not really. I think I was covering, and there were others covering. We had a good 40 minutes and a mad five minutes that killed us at the end of the half. I think we did well in the second half.”
Liverpool has been at the center of refereeing controversies in recent weeks, with Klopp calling for a replay of their match against Tottenham due to unprecedented circumstances. Virgil van Dijk expressed surprise that Gross did not receive a booking after the penalty incident but opted to move on, saying, “We have to accept it.”
Despite the draw, Liverpool remains in close proximity to the top of the Premier League table. Klopp praised his team’s performance, especially in the second half, stating, “Second half we played outstanding, attack ended up with Ryan Gravenberch hitting the crossbar. I don’t think Brighton would have given up, but it would have helped us for sure. Everyone who came on, it was hard to get the rhythm of the game, and so it’s a draw. That’s it.”
