Arne Slot Manager
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has voiced his frustration regarding the lack of penalty awards for his team this season. Despite dominating possession and attacking frequently in the opposition’s box, Liverpool has only been awarded one penalty in the Premier League, which occurred during their away match against Burnley in September. Slot’s comments come after a recent match against Leeds, where a potential penalty incident involving Hugo Ekitike and Jaka Bijol went unpunished.
Arne Slot said: “No, (it wasn’t a penalty) because he stayed on his feet. When he would have fallen down it would probably have been a penalty but I can understand why he doesn’t go down. This season so many times when we were fouled in the 18-yard box, we did not get a penalty. Maybe as a result of that, players from us think: ‘Yeah, let’s try to stay on our feet’. I can go on and on and on with soft penalties we’ve conceded this season. But when fouls were being made on us, Brentford away, Cody Gakpo, the referee said play on, so maybe as a result of that, our players do everything to try and stay on their feet.”
Slot continued: “And then it is hard for the VAR to interfere or the referee to give a penalty if you stay on your feet. We keep doing the same things. I don’t believe in the fact that over a season you get what you deserve. Sometimes things go against you, sometimes they go in favour of you. But in a long time, two, three, four seasons, then I believe in it, that things will sometimes be good for you. I think I am not wrong if I say that we have only had one penalty this season. For the team with the most ball possession and is attacking so much in and around the box of the other team, it is surprising.”
He added: “But I will not encourage them to do that (to go down easily). And if I told you now I am starting to encourage that, we would probably not get a penalty anymore! We are just who we are. We won the league as the team we were last season. There will probably be one or two moments. I can remember when Milos Kerkez went to the ground at Burnley away when he didn’t get fouled. Yes, you can find one or two moments when we go to the floor when there was not a foul. But I watch a lot of football and I see this happening so, so, so, so, so many times. But we stay on our feet.”
Slot’s comments highlight a broader issue of inconsistency in officiating, particularly concerning penalty decisions. His remarks suggest a belief that Liverpool’s tendency to stay on their feet may be inadvertently working against them in earning penalties. Despite his frustrations, Slot emphasized that these officiating decisions are not the sole reason for any lack of success on the pitch.
The manager’s observations come amidst a broader discussion about the role of VAR and referee decisions in modern football. While Slot remains committed to his team’s playing style, his comments underscore the challenges teams face when officiating decisions do not align with their expectations. As the season progresses, it will be interesting to see if Liverpool’s fortunes with penalty decisions change.
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