Rio Ferdinand, the renowned Manchester United icon, expressed his disagreement with VAR’s decisions that denied Chelsea two penalties in their 4-1 loss to Liverpool on Wednesday.
Ferdinand argued that these rulings had the potential to alter the course of the match significantly. In the first instance, Liverpool’s captain, Virgil van Dijk, appeared to lean into Conor Gallagher early on, resulting in the Chelsea midfielder hitting the ground inside the penalty area. Referee Paul Tierney allowed play to continue, a decision upheld by VAR.
The second incident involved Van Dijk once again, as he clipped Christopher Nkunku within the penalty area. Despite a VAR review, the decision to dismiss the incident as a penalty for Chelsea stood.
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Post-match, Ferdinand expressed his disbelief, stating, “I can’t fathom how VAR overlooked those situations and failed to award penalties. The purpose of VAR is to assist in such scenarios. The fact that they did not deem those incidents as penalties [for Chelsea] is perplexing. While I acknowledge Chelsea’s overall performance wasn’t up to par today, those penalties could have had a significant impact on the game’s nature.”