Offside goals in West Ham vs Leicester and penalty appeals in Man City vs Tottenham also analysed
Monday 22 April 2019 23:18, UK
Dermot Gallagher says the decision to award Mohamed Salah a penalty was correct as he takes a look at the weekend's Premier League action in Ref Watch.
The incident from Liverpool's victory against Cardiff on Renault Super Sunday was the big talking point over the weekend, with other incidents from West Ham, Manchester City and Everton also up for debate.
Read on to see what Dermot had to say...
INCIDENT: With 10 minutes to go at the Cardiff City Stadium, Sean Morrison grappled with Mohamed Salah in the box. The Liverpool forward went to ground and referee Martin Atkinson awarded a penalty, which James Milner converted.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Correct decision.
DERMOT SAYS: I think it's a foul and penalty. If you wrap your arms around somebody like that, you're running the risk. To hold them for as long as he did, I think the referee has no option but to give a foul. He didn't have to wait for him to go down, if he had whistled earlier, it probably would have stopped.
I think once Sean Morrison puts his arms around him, he's running a risk. He won't let go of him and I think the referee could have given a penalty a little bit earlier. It is a penalty, no doubt about that.
INCIDENT: West Ham had two offside calls go in different directions for them on Saturday. Lucas Perez put West Ham 2-1 ahead in the 81st minute and despite questions over him being offside, he was, in fact, onside and the officials correctly let the goal stand.
Not long after, Perez rounded Kasper Schmeichel to score his second goal. However, he was flagged for offside and the goal was ruled out, despite appearing to be onside.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Correct and then incorrect decisions.
DERMOT SAYS: [The second goal] is difficult to spot because the player is moving. What's fascinating about this is that eight minutes before, the same assistant had such an excellent decision to allow him to go on and score and I felt like that one was slightly easier because he was a little bit further back. But he has judged it and thought that it was just offside. It's easy when we see it from here and we can see that it's onside.
For the first goal, the linesman has made an absolutely brilliant decision because what he has had to do is decide where Perez is when the shot comes in. When you look at him just before he scores the rebound, he is yards offside, but he did start in an onside position.
INCIDENT: As Bernardo Silva tricked his way into the box, Jan Vertonghen gets his legs around Silva's and brings the Man City forward to the floor. However, no penalty is given by referee Michael Oliver.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Correct decision.
DERMOT SAYS: I think not, but lots of people do. I think Vertonghen gets the ball and it goes up against Bernardo Silva's leg, which brings him over. Other people think he's got his calf. When you see the touch, you have to decide if he has got his calf or whether he has touched the ball and I think he has played the ball onto him.
VAR probably wouldn't have given it because the referee would have described what he had seen and the pictures wouldn't say no because he thinks Vertonghen has played the ball.
INCIDENT: In the 59th minute, a long ball is played over the top for Dele Alli. However, Kyle Walker gets ahead of him to see the ball behind although it does hit his arm on the way through. Alli appeals with Oliver for a penalty, but again, nothing is given.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Correct decision.
DERMOT SAYS: I don't think this is handball. Again, people disagree but I think it is too close. The other thing you have to remember is Walker is moving into the ball so that decreases the distance between them as it is headed towards him. I don't think he can get out of the way of the ball.
I think it might be given in the Champions League, but not the Premier League because the tolerance level in the Champions League is much lower for handball. Next year, when things are tided up with VAR, it will be better moving forward.
INCIDENT: Richarlison scored the opening goal for Everton against Manchester United, hooking the ball into the back of the net with a high boot. United defender Diogo Dalot is nearby but Richarlison's boot does not make contact.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: Correct decision
DERMOT SAYS: I watched this yesterday and everybody asked me why it wasn't dangerous play. If you look, Dalot makes no attempt to play the ball. He has a little nibble but he doesn't go for it. I think there is enough distance between the two players and it is a good goal, let's not take away from that. If there was any physical contact with Richarlison's boot that high, Dalot would have got a free kick.
