Liverpool faced West Brom tonight in the hope of leapfrogging Burnley back into the Champions League places. Things didn't go according to plan however as the two teams played out a goalless draw. The Baggies defended resolutely and also created a few chances themselves hitting the post with Hal Robson-Kanu.
There was a moment of controversy in the dying minutes of the game when Dominic Solanke who came on for Sadio Mané put the ball in the back of the net but the goal was eventually ruled out for handball.
It was a curious turn of events as the ball bounced off his arm from his chest and into the West Brom goal. The Liverpool players wheeled away in delight but their celebrations were cut short when referee Paul Tierney deemed that Solanke's handball was deliberate and chalked the goal off.
A similar situation happened recently when Pierre Emerick Aubameyang scored the first goal of the Revierderby with his hand and the VAR ruled that the goal was legitimate. Check it out here:
So technically speaking the goal should have stood although to be fair it's a tough decision to make and in real time you could argue that the handball looked deliberate.
Typically Reds fans were not pleased with the refereeing decision:
#LIVWBA pic.twitter.com/dWh4yFWa9k
— Alon (@ninjakelapais) December 13, 2017
There is absolutely no fucking way you can claim that is deliberate handball, what an absolutely joke. Robbed tonight by horrendous officiating #LIVWBA
— TJ (@TomLawrence3) December 13, 2017
This is a fucking disgrace, the last 3 epl games we have played there has been 3 major mistakes my ref’s 2 pens and another disallowing a goal get your shit together. #LIVWBA https://t.co/RBNtX8tFxk
— Reds Reports (@RedsReports) December 13, 2017
Robbed by another #ref but imagine how #solanke feels? #lfc we didn’t do enough though...
— Leigh Holland (@Leigh_J_Holland) December 13, 2017
Absolutely disgraceful decision by Paul Tierney!!! Yet another Liverpool goal disallowed by referees who don't know the rules. This is extremely embarrassing for @FA !!!#LIVWBA #LIVEVE #liverpoolFC #PaulTierney @FA #referee #Solanke #NotIntentional
— Woldemort1 (@woldemort1blog) December 13, 2017
Thats it, the standard of referreing in this country has finally hit rock bottom. #LFC #Solanke
— Anthony Scarisbrick (@Antlfc80) December 13, 2017
When asked about the referee's performance Klopp didn't want to get drawn into a blame game and remained diplomatic on the subject.
Klopp on added time: What can I say about that? A lot of things around the referee decisions don’t feel so good right now. But I cannot say anything about that, they do what they think is right. We have to accept it.
— Kristian Walsh (@Kristian_Walsh) December 13, 2017
There's no doubt that the German will be hurting after another draw in which his side dominated.
