The panel are saying it’s a pen because of the contact :/
regardless. All I’m saying - is previous seasons dive or not refs could just give a penalty when they felt like it- it’s harder to do for them nowadays. I’m not arguing the point Liverpool still have cheating diving wankstains at the club, but least if they go down without contact it’s a lot harder to give the decision.
That's the problem with it, they now use the whole 'if there's contact' thing they a penalty is awarded and VAR is used to justify this decision, as in this case, but anybody who had seen it can see quite easily that it's a dive and yet it was still awarded. I can't remember if the ref gave it and we were still at the stage where VAR wasn't overturning the onfield referee or if VAR told the referee to give it. Either way it was a dive and just like last year Liverpool cheated and were given 2 points that they didn't earn. There was another one earlier in the season that was very similar where they got a penalty from a clear dive but again, I think that was when VAR wouldn't overturn the refs decision, possibly against Chelsea as I know they had poinysbtaken off them and given to Liverpool but I can't remember the exact circumstances now. To be fair Mane also dived against Villa and got a card for his troubles, that was the referee though and not VAR. I'd also class the disallowed goal against Palace as a dive even though it didn't lead to a penalty, it was more of a defensive dive which is a new one on me!
A lot of the problem I have with the use of VAR is the way it is being used to justify Liverpool's penalties, free kicks and non goal awards by the use of the whole 'well there's contact' nonsense and yet we've had players hacked down in the box and have got nothing from it. This is what makes the whole thing seem bent, VAR was supposed to even these things out but it isn't doing this at all. Rodri gets thrown to the ground by his neck and the head of VAR comes out and says no penalty as it was a dive! Yet Mane goes down and, you guessed it, 'well there's contact so he's entitled to go down!'. This is what VAR should be used for but it isn't, it's being used selectively and secretively.
What is the difference between the Bernado penalty against Utd and the Calvert-Lewin penalty against Liverpool? Absolutely nothing and yet one was given and one wasn't. Why is a Palace goal not given because a player goes down after a bit of 'confact' but in the same game Van Dyke can run through the back of a defender to barge him off the ball and then score? That's the problem with it, there's no consistency and at this point the inconsistency is only falling in favour of one team yet we were told that VAR would remove the errors referees were making.
PGMOL don't help themselves when they make statements after our games to try and justify the decisions VAR has given against us, "Rodri dived against Spurs'," it's not a penalty because Alexander-Arnold's arm is in a natural position and he didn't have time to react", etc. This after the fact bullshittery doesn't help the entire process seem fair and equal for all teams.
The way our game against Liverpool was referee'd and the none use of VAR was an absolute disgrace to the game in this country, but to then come out and make statements about how all the decisions were correct and all were VAR checked was an insult to the intelligence of football fans. If they had come out and said that there was an issue with VAR and it wasn't in use during that game then I'd have been fine with that but to be told that everything was checked and everything was above board was just insult to injury.
You said yourself that marginal offsides can be manipulated and I honestly believe that if VAR was in use that game then they were definitely manipulated to give Liverpool a 2 goal lead, otherwise why has no-one seen the official VAR replay?
