Referee Anthony Taylor apparently believed Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior fouled midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai in the buildup to Gabriel Jesus’ ruled out winner in their 2-2 draw with Premier League title-chasing Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, which is why he chalked the goal off.
The home fans, including Mikel Merino, Ethan Nwaneri, and Leandro Trossard, were ecstatic after believing they had stolen all three points from Liverpool at the death. Sky Sports’ Peter Drury was even stopped in his tracks by the aura of confusion surrounding why Taylor blew for a foul.
Kiwior Fouled Szoboszlai’s Goal Build-Up Former referee Mike Dean called it a ’50/50 call’.
According to football.london, the reason behind why Taylor had halted proceedings was due to a foul during Kiwior’s in-air tussle with Szoboszlai rather than the common belief that Kai Havertz’s alleged handball was the reason why the Gunners went home with just a share of the spoils.
Attempting to latch onto the ball in the air, Kiwior leapt over a rooted Szoboszlai. While the former went to the ground, the latter stood firm – but it was still enough for the man in black to halt proceedings and, therefore, ruled out Jesus’ goal.
After the Poland international scored, Havertz and Ibrahima Konate rose to compete inside the penalty area. The former appeared to have won the duel, as he poked the ball over a flailing Caoimhin Kelleher before Jesus finished it.
Despite the ball striking Havertz’s arm in the build-up, football.london reports that Taylor, 46, had already decided to restart play because to Kiwior’s previous obstruction on Szoboszlai, a move that has irritated Arsenal fans.
Rather of consulting those in the VAR room, Taylor found the offender’s challenge for the ball a ‘clear and apparent error’ and, as a result, there was no way to reverse his decision once the whistle went. Mike Dean remarked after the match that it might have gone either way.
“It’s more of a soft foul if anything, to be fair he’s just penalised the Arsenal player,” he further added. “It’s probably a 50/50 call for me. He’s had a good game the referee, so I can’t criticise him for that to be honest with you.”
