- Rio Ferdinand has hit the VAR after Chelsea were denied two penalties
- He believed that these chances could have changed the nature of the 4-1 match
- Will Sir Jim Ratcliffe dip into his pockets to sign players for Manchester United? It all kicks off the Transfer Week podcast
Rio Ferdinand says VAR was wrong to deny Chelsea two penalties during their 4-1 defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday and said those calls could have changed the dynamics of the game.
Jürgen Klopp’s side dismantled Chelsea at Anfield on Wednesday evening, with Mauricio Pochettino admitting that Blauw-Zwart were clearly the better team of the evening.
However, Chelsea were denied two penalties during the Premier League match, with Ferdinand claiming those two chances could have changed the nature of the match.
Virgil van Dijk leaned into Conor Gallagher early on, forcing the Chelsea star to hit the ground in the penalty area. Referee Paul Tierney waved for play to continue and VAR rejected any penalty claims.
Van Dijk was also at the heart of the second incident, shooting Christopher Nkunku inside the penalty area. The incident was re-reviewed by John Brooks, but he decided not to award a penalty to the Blues.
Rio Ferdinand says VAR was wrong to deny Chelsea two penalties during their 4-1 defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday and said those calls could have changed the dynamics of the game
Virgil van Dijk leaned into Conor Gallagher (above) early on and kicked Christopher Nkunku
Speaking about the second incident on commentary, Ally McCoist was heard saying: ‘Did Van Dijk pierce him? Oh, you know that!
‘I’ll tell you right away that he does that, that’s a punishment. I think that’s a punishment; he catches it with his right leg. You see Van Dijk’s contact there, oh it’s a penalty all day long. He’s grabbing his right leg, there’s no doubt about that.’
While Ferdinand said after the match: ‘I can’t believe VAR didn’t see that and give the penalties. VAR is intended to help in these situations.
‘How they looked at those two incidents and didn’t think they were penalties (for Chelsea).
‘I still think Chelsea were in good shape today, but those penalties could have changed the nature of the match.’
When asked for his opinion on the situation after the match, Pochettino said said: ‘Of course we saw it on the iPad and we thought it could be a penalty. It was bad luck for us, but that doesn’t change the feeling that Liverpool were better than us.’
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