Liverpool is on track for its second “tainted title,” with the outcome predetermined by PGMOL ever since David Coote was forced to apologize to Jurgen Klopp. So says a certain breed of Arsenal fan in the darkest corners of X, anyway — but Jamie Carragher felt that the Reds were on the wrong end of a major decision over the weekend, and a new verdict has now been provided.
Of course, conspiracy theories are utter nonsense; for every decision that has favored Liverpool, there is a counter-example. Even outside of the “big” calls, there have been countless games, such as the one against Everton, in which it appeared that every single 50/50 decision went against Arne Slot’s men.
Liverpool will win the Premier League title because it has been the best team over the course of 38 games. It will also be in spite of an apparent stonewall penalty that was not awarded against West Ham at Anfield.
It ultimately didn’t matter, thanks to some late Virgil van Dijk heroics. Liverpool would have preferred to have a larger lead than the one provided by Luis Diaz after 18 minutes, and Carragher believed they should have had the opportunity to extend it from the spot.
This is because James Ward-Prowse appeared to swat a corner with his arm. He palmed the ball away with his hand extended in front of his face, prompting appeals from the Liverpool players surrounding him.
The Premier League determined that the action was “accidental and not a handball offense.” You’ll forgive me if I say that this explanation did not fully resolve the situation.
Even rival fans (though perhaps not Arsenal supporters) have expressed surprise that a penalty was not awarded. To use a Howard Webb phrase, it’s clear that “the game expects” a handball in situations like these; it’s just fortunate that Liverpool was able to find a way to score with a much later corner.
Carragher, for his part, described Ward-Prowse as “extremely fortunate.” He also stated that these types of penalties would be imposed in Europe.
However, former referee Keith Hackett has weighed in on the incident, and he believes the correct decision was made. Having said that, he acknowledges both sides of the argument.
“It’s an interesting one because he’s got his hand out, well extended,” Hackett told Football Insider. “And I believe the reason they haven’t given it to him is that he is looking away from it rather than at the ball.
“I believe what has helped the player is that he has his hands out but is not looking at the ball. I believe that’s why they said accidental.”
That’s fine, but if a player was standing on the goal line with his arms outstretched, he couldn’t begin blocking shots unless he kept his gaze fixed on the crowd. The term “unnatural position” is intended to take us out of the murky territory of deliberate and unintentional actions, and Ward-Prowse’s position is as unnatural as it gets.
But Hackett was not just looking at the West Ham player’s hand. He was also looking at his head.
“I think if his head was facing in the direction where the ball [is] then they’re going to award a penalty kick 100 times out of 100,” Hackett told the media. “I believe the player’s head position indicates that he is not attempting to deliberately handle the ball, and the ball has struck his hand, even though it is extended out from the body, so I believe I support that decision.
“[But] if I were a supporter, I’d be upset! I believe that is the nuance of the law.”
This is unlikely to persuade Carragher or the majority of Liverpool fans. It’s a slightly better explanation than the one provided by the Premier League in the immediate aftermath—but it still fails to address the aspect of the handball law that prohibits players from making their bodies unnaturally bigger, risking the ball striking their arm.
That description seems almost ideal for the Ward-Prowse incident. It was a bad decision, but the best teams can take it and still win, and my conspiracy theory is that this is the real reason Liverpool is about to win the Premier League.
