Referees get Liverpool v Brighton wrong again – The Trivela Effect
Liverpool and Brighton played one of the biggest matches of the Premier League weekend on Sunday afternoon. Although the Reds fell early, they equalized with a good move from Mohamed Salah.
Liverpool were the better team from then on and they managed to grab their second from Salah’s penalty after star midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai was teed up by Pascal Groß just before he could score. yawns at his mercy. Salah converted the penalty, so it’s all good, right? That’s because Brighton equalized with Lewis Dunk from Solly March’s beautiful free-kick to make it 2-2.
The result of that match, a 2-2 draw, could have been VERY different if official Anthony Taylor had made a different decision in the first-half penalty where Groß fouled Salah. Groß inexplicably received a yellow card for pulling Szoboszlai’s shirt collar without attempting to play the ball. Szoboszlai almost certainly would have scored in that situation, so it was intentionally mean by Groß to deny a scoring opportunity – aka DOGSO. The rule states that if a player denies a goal chance in their penalty area, it is a yellow card. However, if they deny a scoring chance without playing the ball, the foul is a red card.
In this case, Groß did not try to play the ball. He saw Szoboszlai about to score, came behind Szoboszlai when the player shot, so he pulled the attacker’s collar, maintaining contact until the Liverpool man went down. It may seem harsh because it wasn’t dangerous but legally it should have been a red card and a completely different game for Brighton and Liverpool. Without Groß on the pitch, Liverpool might have had more possession and more push to close out the game, perhaps never conceding a 2-2 draw. The Premier League needs to be more consistent. While other leagues follow their rules exactly, Premier League officials make too many judgments, so there is a lack of consistency. In other leagues like the Bundesliga and even MLS, DOGSO is taken very seriously and is an automatic red because it is unfair that defenders can drag offensive players to the ground in obvious scoring situations without corresponding consequence. The impact on the game is negative as it means defenders have to take risks and not even defend. Liverpool was not as difficult as the match against Tottenham. That said, their supporters are right to bemoan the poor judgment of the officials in charge of this match with Taylor and Brighton. At the very least, it is incomprehensible how Groß did not receive a yellow card for taking away a clear goal-scoring opportunity.