Ranking the WORST decisions to go against Liverpool this season by their awfulness | OneFootball

The poor decisions that have gone against Liverpool this season are hard to be topped.

While there have been moments of regret throughout the campaign, from shoddy finishing to costly individual errors, the standard of officiating is something that has been out of the Reds' hands.

Refereeing errors, compounded by VAR technology, have seen Liverpool shafted time and time again, ultimately seeing them drop points they haven't deserved to.

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Here are the five worst calls to go against Jurgen Klopp's men in 2023/24:

5. Gakpo vs. Areola

We start with Liverpool's most recent game at West Ham last Saturday, as Manchester-born Anthony Taylor again caused controversy in a game involving the Reds.

When Hammers goalkeeper Alphonse Areola dropped the ball in open play inside the box, Cody Gakpo raced to it to tap into the net, only for Taylor's whistle to blow.

Bizarrely, he decided that the ball was actually not live, and that play should be taken back, robbing Liverpool of what seemingly would have been a fair late goal.

4. Curtis Jones' red card at Tottenham

Curtis Jones

Of all the Liverpool games this season, the 2-1 defeat away to Tottenham back in September was arguably the toughest to take.

You would think that Joel Matip's last-gasp own goal was the key reason for that, but it was dreadful refereeing that made it particularly sickening.

With Liverpool on top in a key early-season clash, Curtis Jones was shown a straight red card by Simon Hooper after a VAR review for a tackle on Yves Bissouma, looking stunned as he left the field.

Replays showed that the follow-through was nasty but the Reds midfielder had won the ball first, with the impact on it taking his foot into the Spurs man.

What makes it worse is that the same tackle has happened time and time again this season - Lucas Paqueta on Alexis Mac Allister last weekend, for example - but the same punishment hasn't occurred.

It's the lack of consistency that makes it all so unbearable.

3. Alexis Mac Allister fouled by Jeremy Doku

Football - FA Premier League - Liverpool FC v Manchester City FC LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, March 10, 2024: Liverpool s Alexis Mac Allister appeals for a penalty during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester City FC at Anfield. Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda LIVERPOOL Anfield MERSEYSIDE ENGLAND PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK Copyright: xDavidxRawcliffex P2024-03-10-Liverpool_Man_City-70

Wouldn't it be nice to see VAR go against Manchester City for once?

Liverpool's visit of the Premier League champions in March felt significant in the title race, and in Michael Oliver, they arguably had the best in the business refereeing proceedings.

In the dying seconds, Mac Allister was clearly kicked in the chest by the out-of-control Jeremy Doku, but Oliver waved away the various protests.

VAR was on-hand to intervene - even Manchester United fan Gary Neville expected it to be given on commentary - but the City man was adjudged to have got the ball first.

The Reds were denied the chance to secure a priceless win, and increase their chances of winning the title greatly.

2. Martin Odegaard's blatant handball

Burnley, England, 17th February 2024. Martin Odegaard of Arsenal during the Premier League match at Turf Moor, Burnley. Picture credit should read: Gary Oakley / Sportimage EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorised audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or live services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. SPI-2946-0117

In second place is an absolute shocker, and yet again a decision that came in a huge game.

Liverpool's home clash with Arsenal in December always felt like a match that could be decided by tight margins and poor decisions, and that proved to be the case.

Somehow, VAR were unable to see Martin Odegaard's blatant handball in the first half, with the Norwegian's hand noticeably going down low towards the ball in the area.

It was the type of incident that you can't believe a referee or assistant referee doesn't see, but when VAR even have time to watch it back plenty of times and still not give a penalty, it becomes unfathomably bad officiating.

1. Luis Diaz's disallowed goal v Spurs

LONDON, ENGLAND - Saturday, September 30, 2023: A goal scored by Liverpool's Luis Díaz, given on the pitch as offside, is mistakenly confiemd by VAR who believe the onfield decision was a goal, during the FA Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Liverpool FC at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

This is unquestionably the worst of the lot, and the one that could have felt so hard to take if Liverpool had remained in title contention right up until the final weekend.

Luis Diaz fired home a superb finish with the score at 0-0 at Spurs, but replays showed that the Colombian was in fact onside when Mohamed Salah played him in.

So, we all waited for the goal to be given, but nothing happened!

Instead, incorrect communications involving the officials meant that the goal remained ruled out, denying Liverpool a perfectly fair strike.

The VAR audio that was released in the days after only made it more infuriating. 'Well done, boys. Good process'.

Liverpool went on to lose the game in stoppage time, as mentioned above, and that decision is still the most inexcusable of the season so far.

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