Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey says Liverpool deserved their penalty against Watford for a “rugby tackle” by Cucho Hernandez on Diogo Jota.
The Reds won 2-0 at home to the Hornets, with goals from Jota and Fabinho’s penalty giving Jurgen Klopp’s side all three points to temporarily send them top of the table.
Speaking to CaughtOffside, Halsey criticised referee Stuart Atwell for failing to spot the incident the first time, with the spot kick only given after a review from VAR.
“Looking at the Liverpool-Watford game, I’ve seen a few comments regarding the penalty Liverpool got towards the end of the game,” Halsey said.
“In my view, it’s a clear penalty, it’s a clear holding offence by Cucho on Diogo Jota, Cucho’s not even looking at the ball, he’s pulled him down like it’s a rugby tackle!
“I was surprised Stuart Atwell never saw this in real time, because he was looking in that direction. In those situations some referees spend too much time looking at the ball, but when does the ball commit an offence? You’ve got to keep focused on those danger zones and what’s going on there. VAR were correct in recommending the review.
“The only thing I would say about that decision, however, is we’ve seen similar offences quite often this season that didn’t go to review, so we’re once again seeing too much inconsistency with VAR.”