On Sunday afternoon, one of the biggest Premier League games of the weekend was played between Liverpool and Brighton. Despite falling behind early, Mohamed Salah’s brilliant play allowed the Reds to tie the score.
From that point on, Liverpool was the superior team, and they were able to score their second goal thanks to a penalty from Mohamed Salah after star player Dominik Szoboszlai was dragged by Pascal Groß just as he was about to take a shot with the goal open at his mercy.
Salah made the penalty kick, so everything is good, right?
Wait a minute.
That’s because Brighton made it 2-2 with an exquisite free kick by Solly March to Lewis Dunk.
If referee Anthony Taylor had rendered a different verdict on the penalty awarded to Salah after Groß fouled him in the first half, the result of this game—a 2-2 draw—might have been very different.
Despite tugging Szoboszlai by his shirt collar without attempting to play the ball, Groß was strangely not booked. In such circumstance, Szoboszlai would have almost likely scored, making Groß’s foul a deliberate attempt to prevent a goal-scoring opportunity, or DOGSO.
According to the rule, it is a yellow card offense for a player to block a goal-scoring opportunity inside the penalty box. However, the infraction results in a red card if they block a chance to score without making any effort to play the ball.
Groß didn’t make an attempt to play the ball in this situation. He was behind Szoboszlai when he noticed that the player was ready to score, and he tugged on the attacking player’s collar to keep touch until the Liverpool player fell to the ground.
Although it wasn’t a serious challenge, it may appear harsh, but according to the rules, Brighton and Liverpool should have received a red card and the game should have been abandoned. Groß’s presence on the field would have given Liverpool more control and motivation to finish the game out, possibly never giving up the 2-2 equalizer.
The Premier League officiating has to be more reliable. There is no consistency in the Premier League officials’ decisions, whereas other leagues adhere to their laws to the letter. DOGSO is treated very seriously and is an automatic red in other leagues, like the Bundesliga and even the MLS, because it is unfair for defenders to be allowed to pull attacking players to the ground in clear-cut goal-scoring situations without a sufficient punishment. The game is adversely affected since it implies that it is advantageous for defenders to take chances and fail to defend at all.
At least, how Groß didn’t even get a yellow card for denying a clear scoring opportunity is beyond comprehension. Even though Liverpool weren’t as hard done by as in their match against Tottenham, their supporters should still rightfully complain about this poor decision from Taylor and the officials in charge of the match against Brighton.
